Estuary

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of water at the boundary between inland and ocean, where freshwater and saltwater mix. It hosts the habitats mangrove and saltmarsh. Estuaries are nurseries for a variety of fish and endangered species, filter pollutants, and act as carbon sinks and buffer zones between a river and the sea.

The primary threats facing estuaries are eutrophication, draining and filling, pathogens and pollution, and the decline of sea grass, saltmarsh and mangroves.