In the Choctawhatchee Bay
About the Bay
The Choctawhatchee Bay, fed primarily by the Choctawhatchee River, stretches more than 30 miles, forming the terminus of the Choctawhatchee watershed, with widths ranging from 4 to 6 miles across. East Pass between Destin and Okaloosa Island provides the primary outflow into the Gulf of America, which also rushes into the bay during high tides. Additionally, the Choctawhatchee Bay connects to the Santa Rosa Sound through the Intracoastal Waterway.
The bay is popular for swimming, fishing, paddleboarding, kayaking, and boating. Rare species call the bay their home, including the gulf sturgeon and alligator gar.
Our Efforts
CBA monitors water quality and seagrass in the bay, while restoring the coastline with living shorelines and reef breakwaters.
- Education – CBA works with 3rd and 5th graders across Okaloosa and Walton Counties to learn about marsh ecosystems, raise smooth cordgrass, and restore real shorelines. Through Grasses in Classes, students are inspired to become the next generation of water stewards.
- Oyster Shell Recycling & Living Shorelines – Oyster shell, recycled from local restaurants, is used in living shorelines to create reef breakwaters. Living shorelines provide habitat for wildlife while reducing shoreline erosion.
- Water Quality Monitoring – Every month CBA staff and water quality monitoring volunteers head out to the bay to measure temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and more.
Ongoing and innovative research within unique ecosystems is an integral component of CBA’s work. We partner with agencies, local nonprofits, and research universities on a wide range of water quality and ecology projects.
- Water Chemistry in Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida, USA: Spatial and Temporal Considerations Based on Volunteer Collected Data
- Florida LAKEWATCH: Citizen Scientists Protecting Florida’s Aquatic Systems
- Chain of Eutrophication Models for Assessing the Potential Impact of Nutrient Enrichment on Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida, USA
- Delaware University – Evaluation of Gulf Sturgeon Habitat
- Florida State University – Effects of Climate Change on Choctawhatchee Watershed
- University of Central Florida – Dolphin Study in Santa Rosa Sound
- University of Central Florida – Creek-dwelling Turtle Communities and Associated Water Quality in Four Streams at Nokuse Plantation in 2008
- University of West Florida – Water Quality in Cinco Bayou and Garner Bayou
- University of Florida – Hydrology Study on the Coastal Dune Lakes
- University of Florida – Nutrient Loading, Seagrass Coverage, and Land-use Changes
- University of West Florida – Nutrient Enrichment in Oyster Lake
- University of West Florida – Red Tide Study in Cinco Bayou and Garner Bayou
- University of West Florida – Spatial and Temporal Variability in Karenia Brevis in Western Choctawhatchee Bay
- University of West Florida – Undergraduate Field Research Experience
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission – Seagrass Monitoring