Nantucket Sound has long been recognized as a national treasure, an oceanic wilderness of great biological diversity with habitats ranging from the open ocean to salt marshes. Nantucket Soundkeeper is working to preserve the Sound’s unique ecological, cultural, recreational, and aesthetic qualities through advocacy, public education and legal action.
Nantucket Sound is vulnerable to activities that degrade the special qualities that make it such an important part of our regional coastal ecosystem. Encroachment, pollution, and habitat loss are stressing natural systems beyond their capacity to cope.
The water quality and habitats of Nantucket Sound are primarily in danger from:
- Septic system discharge, storm water runoff into coastal bays, and lawn and turf fertilizers.
- Development both near shore and offshore that may destroy or degrade important habitats; and
- Deposits of airborne nitrogen from air pollution, which act as a fertilizer and cause excess algae to grow in the Sound.
How We Protect The Sound:
- Water quality monitoring through the Nantucket Sound Water Quality Collaborative
- Natural habitat conservation through pollution prevention and coastal cleanups
- Public outreach and environmental education through initiatives such as Green with MV, Eco
Adventure Tours of the Sound, the Boater’s Guide to Nantucket Sound, and the award-winning Soundings video series.
- Visible presence on the water in the Soundkeeper patrol boat
- Initiative to establish a No Discharge Area designation for Nantucket Sound.
Nantucket Soundkeeper is a program of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a non-profit, environmental organization based in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
