What’s Unique About Delaware Bay

• The Bay supports the world’s largest freshwater port system, approximately 3,000 vessels a year, and is the largest receiving center for crude oil, steel, paper, and meat imports.
  


• Fort Delaware is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Union fortress dates back to 1859, and once served as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war. It was originally built to protect the ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia.
  


• The value of the recreational fishery in the Delaware Bay alone was about $25 million in 1990.
  


• Approximately 70 percent of the oil shipped to the East Coast of the United States passes through the Delaware Bay, making it the second-largest refining petrochemical center in the nation.
  


• In 2002, Pea Patch Island Nature Preserve, which is home to the largest colony of nesting herons on the East Coast (north of Florida) was dedicated as a Continentally Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, supporting the area’s consideration as a wildlife resource of both local and national significance.
  


• The Port of Wilmington alone is an economic engine responsible for over 19,000 jobs, $409 million in business revenue impact, and $28 million in annual State and local taxes and is the number one port in North America for the imports of fresh fruit and specifically, bananas.
  


• The annual harvest of Eastern oysters from the Estuary exceeds $1.5 million in market value.
  


• World’s largest population of horseshoe crabs spawn in Delaware Bay
  


• The Delaware Bay is one of the four most important shorebird migration sites in the world, and it boasts the second-highest concentration of shorebirds in North America. The Bay also provides wintering and migratory habitat to many species of songbirds, waterfowl and raptors.
  


• The Delaware Bay Estuary was designated as a Ramsar site and wetland of international significance in May of 1992 because the wetlands associated with this estuary provide a critical resting and feeding area for migratory shore and wading birds.

More About The Delaware Bay

• History of the Delaware Bay
• Threats to the Delaware Bay

Source of Bay Facts:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - www.noaa.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - www.epa.gov
Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control - www.dnrec.delaware.gov
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary - www.delawareestuary.org
The Nature Conservancy - www.nature.org
Wikipedia - www.wikipedia.org