What is SWMP?

What is SWMP?

In 1995, with the goal of understanding how estuaries change over time, the National Estuarine Research Reserve network implemented a standardized monitoring program across all 30 Reserves known as the System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP). This long-term program aims to measure and determine how conditions on the Reserves are changing in both the short and long term.

Blue Crabs

Blue Crabs

As ocean temperatures continue to rise, marine organisms are being forced to adapt. The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, an iconic Chesapeake Bay species, is an example of a species that is moving north to the Gulf of Maine’s warming waters. Historically, blue crabs have been rare north of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but have been observed in New Hampshire and Maine more often recently.