The challenges for science, policy and society in the Bay of Fundy were amply laid out by the speakers at the thirteen sessions at the BoFEP Science workshop held in Fredericton in June. From new technologies for monitoring to how bitumen moves in the Bay of Fundy, the niche of Striped Bass in the Fundy ecosystem, tidal power, new governance mechanisms for marine resources and more, speakers presented new research to help us manage an ecosystem in flux. The sessions began at the side of the Saint John River with a welcoming and drumming ceremony conducted by Elders of the Saint Mary’s First Nation. The Elders and others shared their experiences with the River either through legend, spoken memory or personal stories. Workshop keynote speakers included Dr. Katherine Mills, Associate Research Scientist at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and Brent Suttie the New Brunswick Provincial Archaeologist. Mills cautioned that management regimes need built in capacity for flexibility as we see ecosystem changes brought on by water temperature shifts, citing the example of earlier lobster movement in central New England as water temperature increases sooner in the spring. Suttie told us that our former view of the age of settlements in the Bay of Fundy region is off by several thousand years, as 13,000 year old artifacts have been found in the Pennfield, NB area, challenging some of our concepts of the ice age in the region. Suttie said it is now believed that SWNB was the first area in the region that deglaciated and where vegetation and habitation occurred. The two day workshop closed with talks by anthropologists working on and with governance structures for marine management and a general discussion on the restriction to implementing effective co- management approaches and ways to move forward with co-management. The session also highlighted the need for closer work between the social scientists and the biological scientists. The field trip after the Workshop, allowed participants an opportunity to experience the flora and fauna of the Oromocto River with very knowledgeable guides, provided by the Province of New Brunswick. The workshop provided valuable information for BoFEP to use in future project development, in work planning and in developing the agenda for the next BoFEP Workshop scheduled for 2018. A book of abstracts of the presentations made at the workshop is available online. The Workshop Proceedings is currently in preparation and will be posted on the BoFEP website as soon as it is ready.
Jul 20
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