Celebrating two Bay of Fundy anniversaries
Over many years at BIO, the remarkable, world-renowned, macro-tidal, and highly productive Bay of Fundy has often been a focus of research, monitoring, environmental assessment, and coastal management. Two programs connected closely to BIO that are celebrating anniversaries this year and next are the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment’s (GOMC), Gulfwatch chemical contaminants monitoring program (1991-2021, 30 years) and the Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership or BoFEP (1997-2022, 25 years).
Gulfwatch was initiated as an inter-departmental, inter-governmental monitoring program, utilizing the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, as an indicator of the presence and trends (spatial and temporal) of toxic chemical contamination, Starting in 1991 with funding through the GOMC, a number of sites in the Bay were identified as suitable for annual sampling of mussels and some experimental bagged mussel tests were conducted to hone the techniques of seasonal collection and sample preparation. The program then ran from 1993-2012 with annual sampling, and has continued since with periodic archival sampling (Fig. 1), joint studies with US agencies, and the preparation of papers for publication. Trace persistent organic and inorganic chemicals are pervasive in mussel tissue throughout the Bay, at very low concentrations. Some are chemicals long banned, such as DDT and PCBs. As well, it is important to have knowledge of background levels of PAHs in case there is another oil spill, similar to the Arrow in 1970. One of the groups’ papers, Chase et al. published in 2001 in the Marine Pollution Bulletin (MPB), is a citation classic (cited 188 times to date). More recently, the Gulfwatch members joined with US scientists at EPA and USGS to compare contaminants present in both mussel tissues and sediments in the Bay; a paper was recently published in the MPB. As well, US members have looked at chemicals of emerging concern, with funding from NOAA. The program continues in its 30th year with fewer members, no long-term funding, and its tissue archives now housed at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, NB, reflecting the Canadian federal governments’ apparent disinterest in marine pollution impacts and the marine environmental quality of coastal waters. However, there is a determination to keep collaborating through shared papers and the hopes for future re-funding. Its many papers and data reports are available at www.gulfofmaine.org .
BoFEP emerged in the mid-1990s from an initiative of a small team of people, led by Environment Canada and Acadia University, to identify current environmental issues in the Bay of Fundy. BIOs interest had waned after a number of years of research focussed on the upper bay and the potential impacts of tidal power development in Cumberland Basin. There were, however, other concerns such as the causes behind the decline in numbers of migrating shorebirds and the quality of the mudflats upon which they depend for food during migration. A multi-partner workshop in early 1996 led to a jointly written and widely distributed synthesis report, identifying at least 35 current issues of interest in the whole bay. BoFEP was established formally in late 1997 and has since run twelve more biennial science workshops on the Bay (Fig. 2), bringing researchers, academics, students and managers together. For many years, it ran a number of working groups, on topics ranging from informatics to the ecology of mudflats. Its newsletter called Fundy Tidings, edited by one of the founding members, Dr. Jon Percy, formerly with DFO, has proved popular. The group has also sponsored a number of specific projects, such as identifying community concerns around the Minas Basin. Publications on all of these activities are on its very active website. It has a membership of over 500 people, and a steering committee representing various sectors in NS and NB. Though funding and recruitment remain a challenge, BoFEP continues with new initiatives, highlighting the Bay of Fundy’s ecosystems and the need for science, monitoring, effective policies and management, and community vigilance to protect its unique habitats and biodiversity in this era of climate change. The group celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. Check it out at www.bofep.org.
Submitted by Peter Wells, Gulfwatch Co-Chair, and Chair, BoFEP, July 14, 2021.
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