There were two main objectives of this study: to determineif cultured oysters excrete N at a similar rate compared to wildoysters in previous studies, and to assess for differences in waterquality upstream and downstream of a commercial oyster aqua-culture facility. Hypotheses for this study were: the oysters usedat the aquaculture facility would excrete N at a rate comparableto wild oysters; water will have increased concentrations of totalammonia nitrogen (TAN) and reactive phosphorus (RP), decreasedconcentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) and Chl-a, and no changein temperature, salinity, NO3−–N concentration, and NO2−–N con-centration downstream of the facility. It was also hypothesized thatslower flow of water through the facility would be associated withlarger increases in TAN and RP concentration, as well as greaterreduction in Chl-a and DO concentration.