Thank you for being A healthy The importance of estuaries How can you contribute a steward of the environment. to healthy estuaries? To become a CAMP volunteer estuary, A vital marine environment E-mail: [email protected], or Call one of the Fisheries and a coast Estuaries are transition zones between rivers Oceans offices listed below. and the ocean. They are full of life and For more information, call the office activity. They are rich in nutrients and serve nearest you or visit our website: full of life as habitat for many different species of fish www.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/os/camp-pcsa/index-e.php and birds. Estuaries are coastal areas that are extremely sensitive to human activity. FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA Oceans and Habitat Division MONCTON , Telephone: (506) 851- 7768

Oceans and Habitat Division TRACADIE-SHEILA , New Brunswick Telephone: (506) 393-3036

By getting involved in CAMP you can be an Oceans and Habitat Division important player in monitoring the health of ANTIGONISH , Nova Scotia our bays and estuaries. By collecting data Telephone: (902) 863- 5670

that can be analyzed, you are working to 9 0 0 Oceans and Habitat Division 2 ensure the long-term conservation of the h c

Our economic, social and cultural activities r CHARLOTTETOWN , a marine environment. M can easily unbalance these delicate Telephone: (902) 566-7839 ecosystems. Estuaries are threatened by industrial, commercial, residential and n o i t

recreational development as many people live a c i n and work along the coast and take advantage u m m o

of its beauty and natural resources. C G P D : n o i t p e c n o C CCoommmmuunniittyy AAqquuaattiicc MMoonniittoorriinngg PPrrooggrraamm See yourself as a steward of the How does the Community Aquatic You can become a volunteer! coasts and estuaries Monitoring Program (CAMP) work?

Environmental stewardship is a CAMP is based The Community Aquatic Monitoring Program on a method of relies on community volunteer groups who way of thinking and acting, an collecting care about the environment. attitude, a form of dedication and species found in a sense of responsibility to do the a coastal area of The sampling activity itself is easy to do and best we can for an estuary. The supervise. Program participants learn how to program began identify local species of fish, crustaceans and the coasts and in 2003 as a stewardship initiative to raise aquatic plants. Tasks include: transporting estuaries awareness of the ecology of estuaries and equipment from one site to the next, pulling entrusted to coastal areas in the Southern Gulf of a beach seine in the water, identifying and our care St. Lawrence, to collect baseline data on The water is also checked to measure its counting species, collecting different water coastal species and to test whether healthy salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and quality parameters, and data recording out for future coastlines are characterized by a particular nutrient concentrations. In addition, the in the field. generations. number and type of fish, invertebrates and bottom substrate and the type of aquatic aquatic plants. This community-led monitoring vegetation are recorded. Benefits for volunteers: program is also supported by the Southern – Opportunities to gain field experience 2008 CAMP sites in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition on Sustainability During the winter, staff at the Gulf Fisheries and acquire new skills Southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence – an organization mandated to facilitate and Centre analyze the information collected to – Spend time outdoors in nature coordinate Gulf-wide sustainability projects. see how animals vary among sites and whether – Discover our rich coastal environments and they change over time. The purpose of this contribute to the monitoring of it’s health New Brunswick Once a month from May to Caraquet, Lameque, Shippagan, Tracadie, Tabusintac, activity is to determine whether the data Miramichi, Eel Ground, Saint-Louis de Kent, September, six locations collected can give us an indication of the effect Richibucto, Bouctouche, Cocagne, Shediac, are sampled within each of human activities in bays and estuaries. Scoudouc, . bay or estuary. This may include siltation due to shoreline development, municipal or domestic sewage, Nova Scotia The volunteers use a beach seine to sample or runoff from River Philip, Pugwash, Pictou, an area of water measuring 225 m 2. The Antigonish, Mabou, Cheticamp. agriculture, fish beach seine is brought back to shore where processing all captured fish and other species are Prince Edward Island plants, peat Mill River, Trout River, Souris, identified, counted and recorded. The harvesting or Basin Head, Montague, animals are then released alive back into the other industrial Murray River, Pinette River, water in order to minimize the impact on the sources. Summerside, DeSable River. environment. The program also monitors for invasive species and species at risk.