WINTER/SPRING 2008 VOLUME 12, NUMBER 1

Seeing nature’s poetry. Story Pages 6-7 Herring: A small fish INSIDE that is a big deal Science Insights: Septic systems are gaining By Kirsten Weir respect with new technology to boost performance . . . . 3 he bean of coffee, the leaves of tea, the “Tspices of the tropics, the worms that Where make silk, are of smaller influence on the na- eagles fly tions (sic) richness than the herring of the At- Monitoring lantic Ocean.” tagged eagles could reveal why river habitat So wrote the French naturalist Bernard is important...... 4 Germain de Lacépède more than two cen- turies ago. Times have changed since early Travelogue: American settlers first plucked the small A visitor to the Bay of Fundy silver fish from the waters of the Gulf of yearns to meet whales on Maine. The herring’s importance, however, their own terms...... 5 hasn’t diminished. “For a small fish,” noted Peter Baker, project manager of the Pew En- Profile: vironment Group’s Herring Alliance, “her- Marnie Reed ring are a really big deal.” Crowell waxes poetic on the COURTESY: ACADIAN SEAPLANTS spring melt, lichens and Harvesting seaweed with rakes leaves a considerable portion of the shoots, which rapidly regen- nature...... 6-7. erate the plants. Gulf Voices: A marsh in winter looks deceptively barren, but a host Growing seaweed sustainably of plants and creatures lie By Susan Llewelyn Leach COURTESY: MBL Library in wait for spring’s light and Atlantic herring warmth...... 9 HE CLEAR CHILLY WATERS of the Gulf of Maine, as uninviting as they Book Review: might seem to land-huddled humans, are perfect for seaweed. High tides, The Gulf of Maine herring fishery is Atlantic Coast Beaches T coming under scrutiny this year. Last fall, explains the tides, creatures little heavy industry and thousands of miles of craggy coastline make it one of the the Herring Alliance—a coalition of envi- and storms that shape and best spots in the world for seaweeds. So much so that 250 varieties thrive there. ronmental groups and some fishermen—ran change our beaches. . . . 10 a campaign urging New England residents When you add to that the rapidly grow- to voice their concerns about the fishery, Research ing market for seaweed around the world, such as fishing practices, to bolster support Update: you have a small industry bursting to expand for making it a priority fish to protect. As Undersea in a region hungry for jobs. a result, the New England Fisheries Man- vehicles use The catch here is that only a certain agement Council (NEFMC) received some the latest technology to amount of wild, hand-harvested seaweed can 8,000 public comments by email. In No- monitor offshore aquaculture be pulled from the Gulf’s waters without af- vember 2007, the NEFMC voted to reex- pens...... 12 fecting the sustainability, or rejuvenation of amine herring regulation, adding the species the crop. And the limits of some of those to its 2008 management priority list. “The In the News: harvests are already approaching, said Shep council made an important decision today Maine’s Kathleen Leyden Erhart, owner of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables to fix the Atlantic herring fishery,” Baker wins an award for helping in Franklin, Maine, and an early pioneer of said in a statement issued immediately after PHOTO: SHEP ERHART maintain coastal and ocean seaweed farming in the Gulf. “We’re reach- the NEFMC vote. Yet not everyone agrees Drying alaria seaweed outdoors on the edge resources...... 2 ing the upper limit of the sustainable harvest the fishery is broken. for at least three of our species.” Meanwhile, of Pigeon Hill Bay, Steuben, Maine. Atlantic herring are small, streamlined The Presumpscot River in demand for their products is growing at 10 to fish reaching up to 10-14 inches (25-35 Maine is recovering after 15 percent a year, he said. spread far beyond proponents of organic centimeters) in length that form enormous decades of neglect. . . . . 9 “Sustainable” is a key word in commer- food, however. Growing public awareness of schools in the open waters and offshore Scientists are cial seaweed farming. It is a fundamental ele- the environment, along with the devastating banks of the Gulf of Maine. Herring hold using genetics ment in producing an organic crop, Erhart consequences of overfishing in the North At- a key spot in the middle of the food chain. to identify foreign explained. He claimed his company was the lantic over past decades, has further sensitized They filter plankton from the water and are seaweed in New first in the world to have its seaweed handling the industry. an important food source for large preda- England waters ...... 11 and harvesting procedures certified organic by Until recently, with the exception of a tors such as tuna, whales and sharks. “They the Organic Crop Improvement Association, few experimental cultured seaweed sites, all eat really small things and are eaten by really Calendar ...... 4 or OCIA. Although the definition of organic the seaweed grown in the Gulf’s waters has big things,” Baker said. “They are some of is still up for debate, most agree sustainability been wild and hand-harvested. Commercial the most nutritious foods available for the Outside the Gulf. . . . 4 is a key. The importance of sustainability has See Seaweed Page 8 See Herring Page 11 Scientific Literature. . . 8

Resources...... 10 A marsh in winter…

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GO TO: PHOTO: CathErine COLETTI http://www.gulfofmaine.org/times ... looks deceptively lifeless. Story Page 9 Page 2 Gulf of Maine Times Winter/Spring 2008 Editor’s Notes

Gulf of Maine Times Volume 12, No. 1 Winter/Spring 2008 Enjoying the spring melt

The Gulf of Maine Times welcomes and It’s between seasons, the melt, when values comments and suggestions from the awkward silence encapsulating nature our community of readers. in ice is orchestrated into a crescendo of Email: [email protected] buds overgrowing brown stick plants and lush green shoots carpeting mudflats. Editor Birds return like clockwork every year, and Lori Valigra animals come out of their slumber to seek Assistant Editor food and mates. Catherine Coletti It’s a time of year when warming air and longer daylight lure humans to the Editorial Advisor outdoors as well. Theresa Torrent-Ellis This Winter/Spring issue of the Gulf Maine Coastal Program, of Maine Times celebrates the melt in two Maine State Planning Office stories. Assistant editor Catherine Coletti PHOTO: Ann Flewelling takes us to a marsh in winter, and tells us “March Tracks” taken near Deer Isle, Maine. Editorial Board Susan Bone of the impending changes. “During win- Environment Canada ter, most of the perennial plants—the cum-poet and environment conservation- the rockweeds plants that will come back each spring— ist says every season has its charms, but she wave and the silver sheen is alive Anne Donovan use energy and nutrients absorbed by their loves melt. “I like to watch new sprouts with thousands of eiders. It’s galactic, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone rhizomes, or underground plant stems, to come up and the old, dirty snow melt away this black-and-white sprinkle.” Management stay alive under the ice,” she writes. … increasing day(light) is a metaphor for “This spring, increasing light and optimism,” says Crowell. The melt is a time of year that calls Contributors warmth will tell the marsh to wake up... She describes the energy of the melt amateur and expert naturalists alike to Lee Bumsted the melting away may reveal a weathered we’re all about to experience beautifully in observe the rebirth of the world around Karen Finogle Susan Llewelyn Leach face, as ice, tides and waves have chipped “Eider Envy,” her poem about the Eider them—the lichens rimming the bottom of Peter Taylor away at its fragile outer edges.” duck spring congregations that she calls tree trunks in the city and country, the bird Kirsten Weir Another story profiles poet and con- “one of the wonders of the natural world.” song returned after a long winter, buds spi- servationist Marnie Reed Crowell, a resi- raling around tree branches. Whether you Layout dent of Deer Isle, Maine. Nothing tickles “Was it yesterday the frozen cove experience these awakenings on your own Michelle Muise Crowell’s imagination like the spring melt. was locked-down desert? Today or as part of a group outing, enjoy. http://www.popgraphics.net At the first signs of cracking ice, images the shore is ringed with rotting flood her mind and poetry runs through blocky slabs. Lori Valigra The Gulf of Maine Times, a project of the In a languid band of Prussian blue Gulf of Maine Council’s Public Education her fingertips onto paper. The biologist- and Participation Committee, is made possible through support of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Salt marshes in the Gulf of Maine Administration. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not A new 42-page booklet on salt marshes in the Gulf of Maine offers a necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or reader-friendly look at the ecology of these vital coastal wetlands and ways any of its sub-agencies, the Gulf of Maine to bring them back to health. Salt marshes remove pollution from the wa- Council on the Marine Environment, or ter, provide food and shelter for fish and birds, protect the shoreline from other sponsors. erosion and perform other valuable roles in the ecosystem. However, 75 percent of salt marshes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and 37 per- The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment was established in 1989 by cent in New England states have been destroyed, according to the booklet. the governments of Nova Scotia, New Many remaining salt marshes are in poor health because of road crossings, Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, and development of surrounding land and other human impacts. The rising sea, Massachusetts to foster cooperative due to climate change, looms as a major threat. The booklet presents an actions within the Gulf watershed. Its overview of scientific findings about ecological functions of salt marshes, mission is to maintain and enhance their connections with fisheries and the larger Gulf of Maine ecosystem, environmental quality in the Gulf of Maine efforts to restore damaged marshes and the need for regional monitoring of to allow for sustainable resource use by salt marsh health. The booklet—Salt Marshes in the Gulf of Maine: Human existing and future generations. Impacts, Habitat Restoration, and Long-term Change Analysis—was published This newspaper is printed on 25% post- in February 2008 by the Habitat Restoration Subcommittee, Habitat Moni- consumer recycled paper by Gannett toring Subcommittee, and Science Translation Project of the Gulf of Maine Offset, Norwood, MA Council on the Marine Environment. It is an element of the Council’s five- year Action Plan to enhance the health of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. To download the booklet or request a hard copy, go to http://www.gulfofmaine. org/saltmarsh. The Web page also contains links to other publications and online resources related to salt marshes. Letters to the Editor The Gulf of Maine Times welcomes readers’ letters. However, we reserve the right to edit them for length and clarity. Please include your name, address and Gulf of Maine Council PHOTO: LORRAINE LESSARD phone number. All submissions may be emailed, faxed, or mailed to the Gulf of invites nominations Kathleen Leyden won the Maine Times, c/o Editor. We will consider for leadership and first Susan Snow-Cotter all letters for publication, but cannot Award. guarantee that we will print and/or volunteer awards respond to every one.

Address editorial correspondence to: Do you know a group or indi- vidual who has worked professionally Editor, Gulf of Maine Times or selflessly volunteered to improve PO Box 390356 the Gulf of Maine? A volunteer who Cambridge, MA 02139 USA has devoted his or her life to natural Phone: (617) 492-5357 [email protected] resource and environmental issues in the Gulf? A special coastal management For subscription and other information professional who works in the Gulf of visit the Gulf of Maine Times Maine? The Gulf of Maine Council Web site at: on the Marine Environment is calling http://www.gulfofmaine.org/times for nominations for its annual Vision- Maine coastal manager wins Susan Snow-Cotter Award Material may be reproduced ary and Longard Awards. To nomi- with written permission of the nate a group or individual please visit: Kathleen Leyden, coastal planning manager in the Maine State Planning Office, was Gulf of Maine Times. http://www.gulfofmaine.org/news/ awarded the first Susan Snow-Cotter Award for Excellence in Coastal & Marine Resource index.php#2008nominations. Management by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She received the award at a ceremony in late February in Washington, DC. NOAA will Nomination applications are present the annual award to honor people for outstanding contributions in helping the due by April 25, 2008. nation maintain healthy coastal and ocean resources. Susan Snow-Cotter, former director ______of the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management and a tireless environmental advocate, died in late 2006 (see Gulf of Maine Times, Winter/Spring 2007, Page 2). Winter/Spring 2008 Gulf of Maine Times Page 3 Scie Insightnces To me, a septic system seemed more en- Sewage Solutions vironmentally friendly than a town sewer system. By Peter H. Taylor I didn’t know that even a legally de- signed, well-maintained septic system is hat’s that big mound in your yard scarcely better than a sieve for dealing with “Wwith the pipe sticking out of it?” some pollutants. Nitrogen is the worst of- Often that was the first question people fender. Eighty percent or more of nitrogen asked as they arrived at my house in a semi- typically escapes untreated through a con- rural town on the mid-coast of Maine. ventional septic system. That can add up “It’s the leach field for my septic sys- to 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of nitrogen tem,” I’d say. Sometimes that was enough per year for each person using the system. of an explanation. Once the nitrogen gets into a lake or bay, it Other times, my guest would pause fuels out-of-control growth of algae, which and say, “What’s a leach field?” can foul the water body and compete for I had roughly the same level of knowl- nutrients. edge—or should I say ignorance—about The problem is that conventional septic systems when I bought the house. A septic systems lack oxygen. The persistent COURTESY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY quarter of U.S. residents use septic systems scarcity of oxygen prevents the combina- Scientists are developing better technologies for treating wastewater. Added to a standard instead of sewers, but I was a newbie. tion of nitrogen and oxygen atoms into septic system (both diagrams), the new equipment can enhance performance. Some of the I grasped the basic concept that water I nitrate molecules, which then can change technologies pump wastewater over a filter filled with waste-eating microorganisms. Others flushed down the toilet or drained from the into nitrogen gas. In its gaseous form, ni- inject air into the septic system to enable faster growth of bacteria. sink, shower and washing machine would trogen is harmless and does not fuel growth go into the septic system. Then a series of of algae. Typical single-compartment septic tank with ground-level inspection pipes buried in the “big mound,” or leach It really surprised me that—even in risers and screen field, would release it into the soil, where peak operating condition—my trusty sep- microorganisms would clean up the water. tic system might have contributed to pol- The “pipe sticking out” of the mound pro- lution in the ocean that I enjoyed seeing vided ventilation to help the whole system from my sofa. Most people remotely famil- to work as it should. Beyond that, I didn’t iar with septic systems know that an inad- have much of a clue. It turns out there’s equate or broken system causes pollution, more to it than I ever would have guessed. but the serious shortcomings of “good” sep- I grew up in a town in suburban Mas- tic systems aren’t as widely known among sachusetts where everybody’s house was homeowners and other regular folk. hooked up to the town’s sewer system. The Consequently, I was glad to discover moment we flushed the toilet or drained recently that scientists and engineers are the sink, the water and its load of dirt, conducting research to overcome the tech- soap, human waste and food scraps became nical shortcomings of conventional septic somebody else’s problem. That was true ev- systems. Already, there are many options erywhere I’d lived as an adult, too. available, such as fixed media (in which Not the case at my new home. I be- the liquid is pumped over a filter filled COURTESY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY came responsible for making sure the bad with waste-eating microorganisms, al- stuff in my wastewater would not seep into lowing fast treatment in a relatively small groundwater—and eventually into the space) and suspended-growth systems (in vals. By injecting oxygen, the device allows riodic aeration is the best solution for my ocean inlet by my house. Naïvely, I figured which a blower injects air into the system the formation of nitrate. Funded in part septic system, but I’m going to look into that since my septic system complied with to increase the dissolved oxygen and enable by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal it and other promising, new technologies. local regulations and was well maintained, faster growth of bacteria). The main draw- and Estuarine Environmental Technol- Then I’ll really be able to wow my guests my wastewater and I were not a source of back is that the new technologies tend to ogy (http://ciceet.unh.edu), the laboratory with tales about that “big mound with the pollution. cost far more than a conventional system. experiments and field trials show that pe- pipe sticking out of it.” I actually really liked having a septic An approach called periodic aeration riodic aeration can enable a conventional system for the same reason I liked getting might emerge as a cheaper but effective system to remove up to 75 percent of the Peter H. Taylor (peter@waterviewcon- water from my well instead of a town water solution. José Amador of the University nitrogen in wastewater. That’s a dramatic sulting.com) is a consultant for the Gulf of supply, and burning wood instead of oil to of Rhode Island and David Potts of Geo- improvement. Maine Science Translation Project. He spe- keep warm. It made me feel self-sufficient matrix LLC are testing the approach us- I’m encouraged to know that research cializes in communication of coastal and ma- and connected to the land, unlike when ing a simple, low-cost device that blows is revealing new ways to make septic sys- rine science. I’ve lived in suburban or urban homes. air into the septic system at regular inter- tems pollute less. I don’t know yet if pe-

Resources for sewage solutions

Brief about the CICEET-funded study by José Amador and David Potts Workshop Report 2001: Managing Nitrogen Impacts in the Gulf of Maine http://ciceet unh. .edu/briefs/amador_brief http://www .gulfofmaine .org/knowledgebase/nitrogen/docs/NitrogenWorkshopReport .pdf ------Scientific papers by Amador and Potts in the Journal of Environmental Quality Septic Systems for Coastal Homes http://jeq scijournals. org/cgi/content/full/35/4/1160. http://www .coastalcontractor .net/pdf/2005/0510/0510sept .pdf http://jeq scijournals. org/cgi/content/full/33/5/1828. ------Fact Sheet: Septic Systems Gulf of Maine KnowledgeBase: Sewage and Wastewater http://www .stormwatercenter .net/Assorted%20Fact%20Sheets/ http://www .gulfofmaine .org/knowledgebase/sewage Tool7-Non_Stormwater/SepticSystems .htm ------Sewage Management in the Gulf of Maine: Workshop Proceedings Septic Systems: How They Work and How to Keep them Working http://www .gulfofmaine .org/knowledgebase/sewage/docs/SewageReport .pdf http://maine .gov/dep/blwq/docgw/septic_systems .pdf ------A Good Thing Gone Awry: The Environmental Disruption Caused by an Overload Maintaining Your Septic System: Special Considerations for of Nitrogen is Emerging as a New Concern for the Gulf of Maine Shoreline Property Owners the Gulf of Maine Times, Summer 2002 http://www .umext .maine .edu/waterquality/Publications/7082 .htm http://www .gulfofmaine .org/times/summer2002/nitrogen html. Page 4 Gulf of Maine Times Winter/Spring 2008 Where eagles fly

By Dave Kellam New Hampshire Audubon n a bright winter afternoon an Air has embarked on a three-year ONational Guard KC-135 Stratotank- project in 2008 to determine er lifts off from Pease International Airport habitat use of wintering eagles in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The 161 ton (146,000 kilograms, fully loaded) air- along the Merrimack River craft seems to defy gravity as it takes to the corridor. clear blue skies over the Piscataqua River and Great Bay. But this impressive flying of the Great Bay Resource Protection Part- gas station shares the air with an even more nership and management by the Great awe-inspiring flying colossus of the natural Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. world: the bald eagle. However, other eagle habitat in the state is Weighing in at about 12 pounds (5.4 not as secure. kilograms) and with a wing span of seven By the 1970s, historic bald eagle popu- feet (2.1 meters), the bald eagle is a majes- lations in the lower 48 states plummeted to tic predator that lives around water bodies the brink of extinction as a result of loss of with abundant fish to hunt and large trees habitat, shooting and the pesticide DDT, or cliffs along the shoreline for roosting which severely disrupted the eagles’ repro- and nesting. duction. After DDT was banned in the Bald eagle nests are impressive struc- United States and eagles received endan- tures built with branches collected by a gered status under the federal Endangered single breeding pair that maintains the nest Species Act (ESA) in 1978, eagles began to year after year. During the winter, bald ea- make a comeback. They were reclassified gles leave their nesting territories and con- under the ESA from endangered to threat- PHOTO: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE DIGITAL LIBRARY gregate around open water with readily- ened in 1995, and in June 2007, were re- Bald eagle in flight. available food sources. In New Hampshire, moved entirely from the list. The species this is along major rivers and estuaries. remains on the state of New Hampshire’s list of threatened and endangered species, Eagle Habitat Fund administered by the habitat needs to be protected.” Resource managers must be but as populations increase, they may be National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. New Hampshire Audubon plans to able to recognize critical delisted in New Hampshire as well. Martin developed a plan to capture announce when the eagles have been suc- In southern New Hampshire, develop- five eagles in early 2008 and attach satel- cessfully tagged and how the public can riparian habitats and work ment has dramatically diminished winter lite transmitters to the birds to track their follow the movements of project birds on with landowners to protect eagle habitat along the Connecticut and movements. The information gathered will the Internet. Until then, eagle watchers can these areas from future Merrimack Rivers. In addition to historic reveal the daily habits of the eagles and likely get a glimpse of the colossal predator mill buildings, new structures built in the show what specific habitats are used along at the Great Bay Discovery Center on De- development. areas adjacent to rivers, also called ripar- the Merrimack River and throughout the pot Road in Greenland, New Hampshire, ian areas, remove roosting trees and disturb region. “Because eagles can travel up to or Adam’s Point in Durham, New Hamp- The state’s largest estuary, Great Bay, is the birds, forcing them to expend valuable 100 miles (161 kilometers) per day, we shire. the winter home for many eagles that sum- energy to fly to quieter places, potentially have never been able to follow an individ- mered throughout the Piscataqua River away from vital food sources. ual eagle across New Hampshire,” noted Dave Kellam is project coordinator for watershed in southeastern New Hamp- Resource managers must be able to Martin. “With this project, we will be able the New Hampshire Estuaries Project. shire. During the statewide 2007 Christ- recognize critical riparian habitats and to see how a bird uses different habitats on mas Bird Count, coordinated annually by work with landowners to protect these ar- a daily basis. From my desktop computer, New Hampshire Audubon, excited bird- eas from future development. In addition I can see if a bird tagged in Manchester has watchers on the Seacoast Team counted 15 to benefiting wildlife, undisturbed, well- flown north to [Lake] Winnipesauke or eagles in the coastal region, which smashed vegetated riparian areas protect water qual- is utilizing habitat on Plum Island at the the old record of six. ity and reduce impacts of flooding. mouth of the Merrimack.” One of the reasons eagles congregate Resource managers face a challenging Martin looks forward to overlaying around Great Bay is the availability of task because of a lack of information about the eagle location data with geographic prime roosting habitat at the Great Bay how wildlife uses riparian habitats along information system (GIS) maps of intact Sign up National Wildlife Refuge. Six miles (9.6 long stretches of a river. To address this riparian areas and other natural resource kilometers) of rugged intertidal shoreline need for information, New Hampshire features. “The work we are doing with the to get the includes large white pine trees and other Audubon has embarked on a three-year eagles is designed to help people under- natural features that allow the eagles to project in 2008 to determine habitat use stand why river habitat is important,” said Gulf of Maine Times roost in peace. Most importantly, devel- of wintering eagles along the Merrimack Martin. “Too often, resource managers opment is limited. In addition to the fed- River corridor. Senior biologist Chris Mar- lack the tools they need to demonstrate to electronically at: erally-protected habitat of the refuge, the tin of New Hampshire Audubon is leading others the extent of good habitat. Informa- area enjoys large tracts of development-free this project that is funded by a $50,000 tion from this project will allow everyone http://www.gulfofmaine.org/times shoreland, thanks to the protection efforts grant from the Merrimack River Bald to draw their own conclusions on what

Calendar Outside the Gulf

March 3 – 6 Fish think fast to catch prey: German researchers have modeled the compact neural Atlantic Climate Change 2008 is scheduled for March 3-6 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The circuitry that allows archerfish to make accurate and flexible decisions about its insect theme is Risks, Responses and Tools for Action. Topics will include: science of climate change, prey in a flash. The researchers chose the archerfish because it is known for its unique way impact on renewable natural resources, natural resource management, infrastructure decision- of shooting its insect prey with water and making rapid-fire decisions about where it will making, energy choices, mitigation options, adaptation tools and others. For information visit: land. The fish pinpoints its prey in a four-dimensional space and maps it precisely onto http://www.esans.ca/events.html#climate. a fine-tuned, two-dimensional motor space. In another set of experiments, the simple archerfish network also had to choose the most rewarding target out of two and decide April 30 – May 3 when a response is likely to succeed, the researchers reported. The circuitry must be tuned The 2008 National Science Meeting of the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment on the basis of what the fish have learned previously. Network (EMAN) is scheduled for April 30 – May 3 in Gatineau, Québec. Topics include: gaps “Small Circuits for Large Tasks: High-Speed Decision-Making in Archerfish,” in biodiversity and climate change research, biodiversity monitoring, and planning and manage- ment tools. For information visit: http://www.eman-rese.ca/eman/reports/meetings/national2008/. by T. Schlegel; S. Schuster at Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg Institut fur Zoologie II in Erlangen, Germany. Science, January 4, 2008, 1149265, 104-106. May 11 – 14 Migratory birds can compensate for longitude. Eurasian reed warblers captured Aquaculture Canada 2008, the 25th Annual Meeting of the Aquaculture Association of Canada, is scheduled for May 11-14 in Saint John, New Brunswick. The theme is Growing Qual- during their spring migrations and released after being flown 1,000 kilometers (621 ity Seafood through Innovation. For more information visit: http://www.aquacultureassociation.ca/ miles) to the east can correct their travel routes and head for their original destinations, ac08/index.html. researchers reported in the online version of Current Biology on Jan. 31. The new evi- dence suggests that the birds have true navigation, meaning that they can identify at least May 25 – 29 two coordinates that roughly correspond to geographic latitude and longitude. The find- Coastal Zone Canada 2008 is scheduled for May 25-29 in Vancouver, British Columbia. ings challenge the notion held by some that birds might be limited to navigation in the The conference will be preceded by a Youth Forum on May 23-25. The agenda will look at the ad- north-south direction. But scientists still don’t know how they do it. vances and the setbacks in our understanding and management of coastal and ocean systems, Chernetsov et al.: “A Long-Distance Avian Migrant Compensates for Longitu- both in Canada and globally. The conference will also establish recommendations and actions for dinal Displacement during Spring Migration,” Chernetsoy, et. al., Current Biology the immediate future and for the next 30 years. For more information visit: http://www.czca-azcc. 18, 1–3, February 12, 2008. org/html/conferences/czc08_papers.html. Winter/Spring 2008 Gulf of Maine Times Page 5 Travelogue Meeting whales on their terms in the Bay of Fundy

By Karen Finogle

he breaths come suddenly. Short ‘I had never seen or heard a Tbursts of moist air blown urgently into whale before, but the intelligence the night sky. A mammalian geyser trades visible in their eyes, the grace carbon dioxide for oxygen before it slips and curiosity so often depicted beneath the surface. It’s over in seconds. Perched on the edge of a cliff, at a camp- on televised nature programs site 50 feet (15 meters) above the ocean, I drew me in. I wanted to meet crane my head forward to scan the murky them, but on their terms.’ darkness below. I wait…for a shimmering back or barnacled head to break the sur- face. Nothing. And then another blowhole sounds off. Twice this time. Another follows minutes later. The whales surface in the shadows, avoiding the single moonbeam that casts a carpet of light across the Bay of Fundy. My chance to see these baleen feeders evapo- rates with their invisible breaths. Hearing them is its own magic. In a silence interrupted only by the waves lap- ping against the rocks, these creatures sur- face and exhale with voracity—as if they are on the verge of drowning. In response, I quiet my own breathing and listen. My whole being is tuned to their frequency, awaiting their missives. My blubbery companions could be humpback or endangered North Atlantic PHOTO: LAURIE MURISON, GRAND MANAN WHALE AND SEABIRD RESEARCH STATION right whales, but they are likely finback or A right whale breaching off of Grand Manan. minke whales, which are most often spot- ted from the shoreline. Members of all four species spend the summer and fall months one of the vinyl, padded benches. into looking closer, but Gray seals are my fishing line wrapped around their fins, tails near Grand Manan, a Canadian island in In the Bay, the endangered right closest companions. They are Neptune’s or baleens. If tight enough, the lines can the Bay of Fundy that is 15 miles (24 ki- whales, of which there are only 300 to Labrador Retrievers, spinning and twirling saw through flesh and expose the whales to lometers) long by almost seven miles (11 350 left in the world, have the right of in the water, mimicking the joy their ter- infection and possible death. kilometers) wide. way. In 2003, an international collabora- restrial cousins find in rolling in the grass. Entanglement and collision are the Like much of the land that touches the tion between shipping and oil companies, They dive and surface in the fishing weir two biggest risks to right whales currently, Bay, Grand Manan has some of the high- scientists and the Canadian and U.S. gov- that stands near the cliff walls–a primitive- and the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird est tides in the world, 27 to 30 feet high ernments led to the shifting of shipping looking, kidney-shaped herring trap used Research Station, as well as several other (8 to 9 meters), and they change every six lanes four nautical miles east of established by bands of Passamaquody and Mik’maq. organizations, is continuously working to hours. That’s the secret behind what makes routes in hopes of reducing collisions, Seals seem adept at navigating the find new avenues of communication and these waters such a four-star destination which nearly always kill whales if the vessel entrance to the stake and twine net struc- collaboration with government agencies for whales. is large enough. Right whales, in particu- tures that stand like sentries around Grand and private industry to identify ways to re- lar, cannot afford to lose even one animal Manan; the tall, thin poles driven in the duce these threats. if the species is to survive. The shift diverts ocean floor jut out of the water, visible My last night on Grand Manan, I ships away from the primary feeding areas even at high tide. I watch as a seal’s head again scramble to the cliff as the moon be- in the Grand Manan Basin, an area of deep bobs on the outside of the net, ducks, and gins to rise on the eastern edge of the Bay water between the island and Nova Scotia, then resurfaces inside only minutes later. of Fundy. It is quiet except for the white and has significantly reduced the number noise of water against rock and the oc- of whales in direct exposure to vessels. ‘If only I could shout down to casional laughter from nearby campers. I This year, that right-of-way will be them, my voice penetrating the wait for the whales to return, for the final extended, sort of. In June, the Roseway breaths or calls that will include me in their Basin, an area 1,780 square nautical kilo- water and riding the currents community, if only for a moment. I sit pa- meters southwest of Nova Scotia, will be until it reached their ears. tiently as my muscles grow stiff. Nothing designated as an area to be avoided by con- What would I say?’ but the sound of surf reaches my ears. tainer ships. Another example of interna- Underwater, somewhere else, they are tional collaboration, the new designation probably calling to each other. They are so- was adopted by the International Mari- Once herring enters a weir, they fol- cial creatures that rely heavily upon com- time Organization last fall and will be in low the path of the netting, the curved munication, and hearing is perhaps their effect from June through September each shape of which continuously directs the most important sense. The Bay, the entire year. Unlike the Fundy regulation, this act fish away from the entrance. It can also ocean really, has been getting louder. In- is voluntary, but shipping companies have confuse harbor porpoises, and even whales. creased shipping traffic, blasting, harbor historically been quick to respond to such In one year, there were more than 300 por- dredging, fishing, and even whale watch PHOTO: PETE INGRAHAM Karen Finogle contemplates communicating measures, and this particular act requires poises caught in the weirs around Grand tours all add noise to the ocean. And the with whales. only a minor route diversion. Manan. Most years, about 15 to 30 get Bay of Fundy is already a naturally noisy The 50-degree Fahrenheit (10-degree trapped. Occasionally, minke whales, and area, where the tides alone can cause a Celsius) night air chills me, and I must sometimes humpback and right whales, whale to raise its voice. Approximately 100 billion tons of wa- abandon my moonlit listening post on swim through the opening and then be- If only I could shout down to them, ter is pushed in and out of the Bay twice a the northeastern side of the island for the come confused; they have known no such my voice penetrating the water and rid- day. This kinetic energy acts as a giant bio- warmth of my sleeping bag. The tent sits confinement in the ocean and cannot ne- ing the currents until it reached their ears. logical mixer, churning up nutrients and a mere 15 feet (4.5 meters) from the cliff gotiate an exit. Luckily, the Grand Manan What would I say? Would I apologize for bringing them to the surface where phyto- edge, one of the reasons I chose to come Whale and Seabird Research Station, a all the other noise, for the clutter we’ve plankton—round, single-celled organisms to the island and the Hole-in-the-Wall research organization established in 1981, added to their saltwater home? Would I that are algae, bacteria or fungi—grow Campground. I had never seen or heard has been working with weir fishermen for stutter and stumble, the awkward visitor at through photosynthesis. Phytoplankton a whale before, but the intelligence visible several years to develop successful tech- a family gathering? is the diet of zooplankton, tiny ocean ani- in their eyes, the grace and curiosity so of- niques that free both porpoises and whales I think I would simply start with a mals that float at the whim of ocean cur- ten depicted on televised nature programs safely. “hello” and listen to what they had to say; rents. And zooplankton is the food staple drew me in. I wanted to meet them, but It’s a more difficult scenario in other the sound of their breathing has already of our baleen friends. on their terms. parts of the ocean where other types of taught me so much. I had begun my whale watch on the With the advent of daylight, I am back fixed fishing gear provide invisible barriers. 90-minute ferry crossing the Bay of Fundy scanning the ocean water, waiting for the Through photographic documentation, Karen Finogle, a free-lance writer and from Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, whales to move by, on their way to float- 75 percent of right whale and humpback senior editor at AMC Outdoors, lives in outside on the deck until the stiff wind and ing banquets of zooplankton. Every wave whale populations have scars from entan- Durham, New Hampshire. pitch and roll of the ship sent me inside to that rises and breaks offshore tricks me glements. Some whales break free but carry Page 6 Gulf of Maine Times Winter/Spring 2008 Profile: Marnie Reed Crowell

PHOTO: ANN FLEWELLING Waxing poetic on the spring melt, lichens and “Sandpiperall Silverthings Seam” near Deer natural Isle, Maine.

By Lori Valigra two together, teaching high school biology and Latin. Crowell has since published a othing tickles Marnie Reed Crowell’s number of books on natural history as well Nimagination like the spring melt. At as poetry. “I called my first book Greener the first signs of cracking ice, birds return- Pastures because I thought any pasture is Just at the silver seam ing from their winter retreats and buds worth greening,” she said. Perhaps some Spotted Sandpiper clustering on branches, images flood her of the inspiration for that book came from between the sea and shore mind and poetry runs through her finger- teaching biology to inner-city sophomores the spotted sandpiper tips onto paper. The biologist-cum-poet in Camden, New Jersey, who didn’t spend and environment conservationist says ev- much time getting to know the natural teeters, speaks softly to itself ery season has its charms, but she loves world around them. “As far as they were melt. “I like to watch new sprouts come concerned, a little brown bird was a kind a poem it has by heart. up and the old, dirty snow melt away,” she of bird. That was a bird species.” —Marnie Reed Crowell said excitedly. “And then I like to see which things are on time. It’s a bit of detective Wild times in the city work.” Some birds always return on time, Crowell believes anyone can sensitize triggered by daylight. “Increasing day is a themselves to nature, starting with small metaphor for optimism,” said Crowell. steps. For example, city dwellers could no- name them [the lichens], but you’re a step Crowell, a Deer Isle, Maine, resident tice the subtler signs of spring’s onset by ahead of yesterday when you didn’t know originally from New Jersey, doesn’t see the seeing the discoloration at the bottom of they were there,” she effused. “So the world line often drawn between science and ar- a tree. If they’re inquisitive, they might just keeps getting richer and richer.” look beyond what most would call “scum” Nowadays, Crowell, keen-eyed and tistic expression. The daughter of an en- PHOTO: ANN FLEWELLING tomologist, she grew up fascinated with Marnie Reed Crowell and consult a guide book at their local li- energetic at 69, explores Deer Isle, where the natural world. She fell in love with brary. In the book they’d discover they had she puts her astute and sensitive observa- both words and science, and to this day seen one of the two or so lichens that can tions and interactions with nature into still hasn’t chosen between them. And like an entomologist was insects and an etymolo- survive city air pollution. Country dwell- verse that even the most science-challenged her father, she possesses a natural curios- gist was words,” she said. “My father taught ers may be able to identify 30 species of can understand. Working at her side much ity about the things she doesn’t know in me the scientific and the common name lichens on trees where the air is purer, of the time is photographer Ann Flewel- nature, and an unstoppable willingness for everything we saw. I had a hard time she said. But merely noticing that there ling, who brings the dimension of physical to share what she does know with anyone choosing between arts and science.” Ul- is something growing on the tree is a step imagery to the stanzas of her poems. The within earshot. “I grew up explaining how timately, she didn’t choose, but wove the closer to nature. “You may not be able to two call their verbal/visual collaboration “threehalf press,” because the combina- tion of one plus one person can be more than two. Their most recent book,Beads & String: A Maine Island Pilgrimage, is a col- laboration that highlights Deer Isle’s pre- serves. New chapters focused on months of the year appear each month on the Web site of Island Heritage Trust http://www.is- landheritagetrust.org/, a conservation land

Icicles on the LeeCrystal Eavescool carrots like dragon’s teeth drip. The rain chain hangs frozen stiff and stout as a club, but hear the ocean snarl as out of the south come the jaws of Spring. —Marnie Reed Crowell

PHOTO: ANN FLEWELLING “Icicles on the Lee Eaves” taken near Deer Isle, Maine. Winter/Spring 2008 Gulf of Maine Times Page 7 trust for Deer Isle, Stonington and the sur- rounding islands. Proceeds for the book, to be published in full in the spring, will go to the Trust. A trust emerges The volunteer-run Island Heritage Trust is another of Crowell’s loves. She and her husband, Ken, an ecologist, were instrumental in its origins in 1987. It was Ken’s work studying the mouse popula- tions on different islands surrounding Deer Isle that helped enlarge the circle of people interested in donating land or easements to maintain the pristine character of Deer Isle. Crowell said it’s not necessary to be a Rockefeller to donate land or services, such as the proceeds of a book, to a land trust. “No one was a millionaire on Deer Isle,” she said. She and Ken met many islanders through Ken’s work. They also volunteered to give nature walks and talks, which in- spired other islanders who attended to do- nate land or easements to the Trust. Their interest in conservation began in New Jersey, where both are from, and where they got involved in The Nature Conservancy, which later led to their work in the land trust. Of Deer Isle’s 24,000 PHOTO: ANN FLEWELLING acres (9,712 hectares), so far 2-3 percent “Cloud of Being” taken at Crockett Cove Woods, a preserve on Deer Isle, Maine. are preserved. Crowell, her husband and their Deer Isle friends started the land trust. What is ugly stuff, but she chose to paint beautiful for people who spend their life’s energy in they feel in my hand. I’m half expecting amazing about Deer Isle, Crowell said, is stuff and serenity and say, ‘look, if we don’t a city working hard. They need their bat- them to pull down toward the center of the that almost all of the preserves in the early take care of it, this is what we’re going to tery recharged,” she added. “So by reading earth like a dowser. And then I realize this years were gifts from people. “Nobody was lose.’” Dowsing they’ll feel better, like holding is so interesting it must be the way a lobster wealthy. Emily Muir had to sell some of her It’s not just professional painters, pho- hands with wind on the bay.” feels in communion with something bigger land so she could afford to give away that tographers or writers who can speak for the Crowell recommends carrying and since it’s sea you’d call it Neptune or other land,” said Crowell of local builder, environment. Crowell admits she wasn’t around a small notebook, or jotting cre- Poseidon.” architect and artist Muir, who decided to trained to write. She felt compelled to do ative thoughts, phrases and inspirations She added, “What I would encour- give the backland where she was building so. She also hails the advent of new tech- on them. “I had to learn to trust my own age everybody to do is when you get those a line of houses along a cove as a nature nologies like digital cameras, which make flash of emotion or inspiration,” she said. thoughts, work on them, play with them, preserve. it easy for people to capture and share im- “What I see in the natural world is usu- make them more exact and meaningful. Crowell admitted those were good ages via home-made newsletters, the Inter- ally a metaphor that has a deeper meaning Words have an abstract melody. Listen to years, but now people considering mak- net and other ways. to me. It is a highly spiritual experience, that. You don’t need to go to a poetry class. ing donations have a tougher decision with “If you’re a city person looking at ants like Dowsing or Mackerel. Both of those Allow yourself to listen to it as an abstract the rapid escalation of land prices. “Land and then go to the museum and look at poems are pretty humbling. Like Dows- sound. And the pattern of words that most preservation is entering a new phase,” she the display, how do you share that? Do ing. I literally was walking around the Isle fit, play with that for a week or so and look said. “How do you deal when you’re now you share it in your local co-op newsletter? with a stick in my hand and Ann looked at it again. A better way of arranging it will talking millions of dollars? The last couple Do you share it in your school newspaper? at me and said you’re doing a poem aren’t occur to you. That tinkering is what’s mak- of years the preserves have been purchased, You probably can find someplace to share you? And I said I suppose I am. What is ing poems.” not given. People may be generous, but it, and it probably will mean something to the poem about? It’s about holding these they’re not going to give away a million- other people,” she said. “Part of what I do, sticks in your hand. Formerly bayberry, Lori Valigra is editor of the Gulf of dollar nest egg.” by the way Dowsing and other poems, is these are ordinary twigs, but I like the way Maine Times. But there are smaller, still important contributions that can be made. “Most of my contribution has been I donated my talent,” she said. ”It happens we came to PHOTO: ANN FLEWELLING Deer Isle early on, so we were able to ac- “Dowsing” was inspired quire 30 acres (12 hectares) of land that’s DowsingThese two bare twigs, by one of Crowell’s walks right next to a preserve. We gave the con- around Deer Isle, Maine. servation easement on it.” formerly bayberry, But Crowell feels her more significant too scant to be driftwood contribution to the land trust has been reaching the local people through nature but nicely branched and silvered, walks and books, work that inspired the people who owned properties to find a they fit my hand so well good mechanism to donate. “That’s totally I carry them full circuit satisfying,” she said. around the island Artists as educators with no vain intention So what is the artist’s role in preserving the environment? “An editor at Reader’s Di- of taking either home with me– gest told me the key to success is that peo- but I like the feeling ple want to know what it’s like to be inside someone else’s skin. So I’ll tell you what of winnowing the sea breeze, it’s like to be me and go mackerel fishing.” Crowell doesn’t think artists are obligated of holding hands with the sky, to have an environmental cause or bend to of sensing how a lobster feels their work, but she does suggest to her art- ist friends that making an artist’s statement waving its claws in communication could be useful. Crowell said most of the with Poseidon and the sea. local artists do make such a statement, for example, Carolyn Caldwell http://www. —Marnie Reed Crowell carolyncaldwell.com. “Why do I paint?” she says in her artist’s statement on her Web site. “Vanishing beauty. The world is Hear Marnie Reed Crowell changing rapidly. Development is overtak- read her poetry on the Times online at: ing the natural world….My hope is that http://www.gulfofmaine.org/times. artists can slow the rush.” Said Crowell, “She could have painted

For more of Marnie Reed Crowell’s and Ann Flewelling’s work visit: http://www.threehalfpress.com. Page 8 Gulf of Maine Times Winter/Spring 2008 Seaweed continued from Page 1 University of New Brunswick, is at the forefront of this integrated idea, known seaweed companies have taken pains to more scientifically as Integrated Multi- protect their crop. Take Acadian Seaplants Trophic Aquaculture, or IMTA. When of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, which claims rafts of blue mussels are placed in close to be the world’s largest independent proximity to Atlantic salmon cages (with- manufacturer of seaweed-based specialty in 20 meters or 60 feet), and ropes of kelp products. The company has a sophisti- (a large brown seaweed) dangle from a raft cated, internationally-recognized sustain- 100 meters (300 feet) away, the three spe- able harvesting and monitoring program. cies complement and increase each other’s Each seaweed bed is photographed from growth, Chopin discovered. the air and assessed on the ground—with the data recorded in a computer file—to ensure the crop is managed sustainably. High tides, little heavy Alan Critchley, the company’s vice industry and thousands of president of research, said Acadian Sea- miles of craggy coastline make plants harvests 17 to 25 percent of the standing stock of rockweed—well below the Gulf of Maine one of the the annual growth rate. The seaweed’s bio- best spots in the world for mass is also monitored before, during and seaweeds. after each harvest, Critchley said. To avoid the possibility of overhar- vesting a wild crop, Erhart plans to add Fish farms produce an excess of nu- cultured seaweed next year—growing trients in the surrounding waters. When deep burgundy-colored dulce seaweed on kelp is grown near the fish cages, Chopin nets and selling it under a “local and sus- said, it absorbs much of the excess dis- tainable” label rather than “organic.” solved inorganic nutrients, such as nitro- At the same time, a new twist to the gen and phosphorus, and increases its bio- cultured seaweed story is developing as a mass 46 percent faster than when grown COURTESY: ACADIAN SEAPLANTS number of commercial seaweed operations 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) away at a ref- Surveying rockweed seaweed biomass. along the Gulf coast, including Erhart’s, erence site. Meanwhile, the mussels feed collaborate with scientists and researchers. on the organic particulates and grow 50 They are experimenting with an integrated percent faster. This acceleration speeds up ‘Sustainable’ is a key word in commercial seaweed farming. It aquaculture idea that is producing some the harvesting cycle and turns the natural is a fundamental element in producing an organic crop. surprising and encouraging results. recycling into an economic benefit. Shawn Robinson, a government re- searcher at the St. Andrews Biological weed’s function as a natural water filter also certified for the production of organic Station in New Brunswick, is collaborat- might turn it into a repository for pollut- products from seaweeds. ing with Chopin on the IMTA idea with ants. Over six consecutive years, Chopin Erhart of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables the help of a local company, Cooke Aqua- said, the Canadian Food Inspection Agen- said his whole crop is certified organic culture. He said they’re at the commer- cy (CFIA) monitored the seaweed for resi- by the Organic Crop Improvement As- cial scale already. Four salmon sites each dues of heavy metals, PCBs and a host of sociation. When harvesting in the ocean, have four rafts of kelp and four of mussels other contaminants, but no accumulation he acknowledged, there is little control placed at carefully chosen distances. And of chemicals was ever found. The results of the environment. But where one har- the result: enormously plump mussels and were always below the regulatory limits. vests—far from industry and flood drains, fast-growing seaweed. His only concern, for example—how, when and how much Robinson said dryly, is that people might are all part of the OCIA assessment. That COURTESY: ACADIAN SEAPLANTS develop a taste for these unusually stout One other concern had been includes how the plants are transported, A cutter rake for sustainable seaweed mussels and forget what the wild ones that seaweed’s function as a dried, stored and packaged. harvesting. look like. natural water filter might turn While most of us might first think On the cusp of larger commercial use, of the dark green or black crinkly strip IMTA appears to be a win-win formula it into a repository for wrapped around sushi rice when seaweed Aquaculture is a staple of the fishing with a further bonus. Despite early con- pollutants. is mentioned, the sea plants’ uses are far industry, but has traditionally been a mon- cerns that the shellfish and seaweeds might and wide. Rich in nutrients absorbed from oculture—growing one type of finfish, or be “reservoirs” for diseases that would af- the rushing tides, various types of seaweed shellfish, in isolation. With integrated fect the fish, the reverse has been the case, are used in products ranging from fertiliz- aquaculture it is possible to create mini- Chopin said. “Our team, and also another Acadian Seaplants has been working ers to cosmetics, animal and human food ecosystems in the sea whereby the waste of one in Norway, have observed that mus- closely with Chopin on the IMTA ex- to vitamin supplements, and pharmaceu- one species, salmon for example, becomes sels seem to be able to destroy the virus periment and markets the kelp produced. ticals to textiles to biotechnology. the food or fertilizer for other species such responsible for ISA (infectious salmon When asked about the “organic” status The next time you eat ice cream or as shellfish and seaweed. The setup, first anemia),” Chopin said. This means the of Acadian Seaplants products, Critchley drink beer, chances are some rock-clinging proposed six years ago, turns out to be a mussels have the potential to act as a bio- said the term is loose. All seaweeds enjoy seaweed was integral to its production. more efficient, economic and ecologically filter for disease reduction or prevention, the status of being an “organic input” for sensitive way to operate aquaculture. he added. agricultural purposes, he said. The compa- Susan Llewelyn Leach is a free-lance Thierry Chopin, a researcher at the One other concern had been that sea- ny’s site at Pennfield, New Brunswick, is writer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

From the Scientific Literature The ocean’s uneven heat gain: While overall temperature How diatoms build their shells: Diatoms, some of which in the North Atlantic Ocean has risen over the past half century, are so tiny that 30 can fit across the width of a human hair, are it has not been consistent across the area, researchers reported so numerous that they are among the key organisms taking the in the journal Science. This example fits with the general pattern greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the Earth’s atmosphere. of global warming, but before scientists can accurately predict The shells of diatoms are so heavy that when they die in the what the impacts of warming will be, they need to understand oceans they typically sink to watery graves on the seafloor, tak- the spatial pattern of temperature change. The researchers ing carbon out of the surface waters and locking it into sedi- found that in the North Atlantic, the tropics and subtropics ments below. Scientists reported in the online edition of the have warmed, but the subpolar ocean has cooled over the last 50 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences their discovery of Sign up years. Using an ocean general circulation model, they interpret whole subsets of genes and proteins that govern how one species the change as mostly the result of wind and buoyancy forcing of diatom builds its shell. For oceanographers, the work might associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, which is a cli- one day help them understand how thousands of different kinds to get the mate phenomenon caused by differences in sea-level pressures. of diatoms—and their ability to remove carbon dioxide from The researchers suggest that while the spatial pattern of the atmosphere—might be affected by something like global temperature change in the North Atlantic does not directly re- climate change. The new work took advantage of the genomic Gulf of Maine flect global warming, it may be the indirect result of warming map of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana published in 2004 as transmitted through large-scale changes in atmospheric cir- by a team led by University of Washington oceanography Pro- Times culation. fessor Virginia Armbrust, who is a corresponding author of this “The Spatial Pattern and Mechanisms of Heat Content paper. Change in the North Atlantic,” by M.S. Lozier; M.S.C. Reed; “Whole-genome expression profiling of the marine dia- electronically at: N.J. Moore at Duke University in Durham, NC; S. Leadbet- tom Thalassiosira pseudonana identifies genes involved in ter; R.G. Williams; V. Roussenov at Liverpool University in silicon bioprocesses,” Mock et. al. Proceedings of the Nation- http://www.gulfofmaine.org/times Liverpool, UK; and N.J. Moore at Michigan State University al Academy of Sciences, 2008; 0: 0707946105v1-0. in East Lansing, MI, Science, January 3, 2008, 1146436v1. Winter/Spring 2008 Gulf of Maine Times Page 9 stems of the smooth form across the the spring, prior to the extensive growth cordgrass (Spartina marsh and freeze to of the cordgrass. Both the cordgrass and alterniflora) and salt the plants and peat, the fucoid algae are important sources of hay (Spartina patens) or soil filled with or- detritus, or dead plant and animal matter, GULF are half buried in the ganic matter. If freez- within salt marshes, providing energy to snow in ankle-high ing temperatures the marsh system. voices clusters. Steve and I remain in an area Avoiding all of that above-ground win- weave around their sheltered from wave ter upheaval, the horseshoe crab—whose Awakening the marsh dead brown tops. action, the ice deep- name is a bit of a misnomer as it is not a During winter, ens, reaching thick- crab species but is related to spiders and By Catherine Coletti most of the peren- nesses of 1 to 2 feet scorpions—moves to deeper and warmer nial plants—the (30-60 centimeters). waters and waits for spring burrowed he sun glares off the snow, which blan- plants that will come In an amazing pro- in the mud, sometimes with only its tail Tkets most of the ground on the salt back each spring— cess called ice rafting, sticking out. Many resident New Hamp- marsh. I can see my breath in the air. use energy and nu- the ice chunks get shire horseshoe crabs overwinter in Great We squint in search of the Canada trients absorbed by sucked away by the Bay and Little Bay, and will migrate to the geese and ducks that come to spend the their rhizomes, or outgoing tide, taking shallower waters near the marsh when the winter here. Species such as American underground plant hunks of peat and water hits about 10 degrees Celsius (50 de- black ducks, mallards and American wid- stems, to stay alive plants with them. grees Fahrenheit). geon will forage for seeds, stems, leaves and under the ice. The The plants hitchhike This spring, increasing light and even snails and small clams on the exposed cordgrass has an ad- to new locales, some- warmth will tell the marsh to wake up, mud flats of the low salt marsh when the ditional winter sur- PHOTO: CathErine COLETTI times deposited in melting the snow and splattering green tide is out. Today we spot the silhouettes of vival strategy: tiny Salt marsh pool (foreground) covered marsh areas to take across it like a modernist painter. The crows, adept scavengers in many surround- purple-tinged shoots by a thin sheet of ice. Mummichog fish, up residence, and melting away may reveal a weathered face, ings, including this one. at the base of last crabs and shrimp bury themselves in the sometimes doomed as ice, tides and waves have chipped away My tour guide is Steve Miller from year’s dead growth mud at the bottom of pools like these to sub-tidal habitats at its fragile outer edges. the Great Bay Discovery Center in Green- connect the roots throughout the winter. where they can’t sur- Due to the cold ocean water brought land, New Hampshire. He said, “There’s and rhizomes to the vive. Steve said he in by the tides, salt marsh plants grow a still some deep holes, so watch your step.” oxygen in the air above. In the spring, the has seen ice chunks the size of bathtubs bit later than inland ones, and most make I forgot to wear gloves, left my hat in the purple shoots do not grow bigger, their job with plants sticking out of them floating their spring debut around mid May. Also car and can feel my ears turning red with having been completed. out of Little Harbor, when he worked at around that time, the horseshoe crabs will cold, but I don’t mind because I feel like Steve and I come across a pool covered the Seacoast Science Center along the At- be spawning at the high tide line, their I’ve stepped into a scenic painting. On the with a thin sheet of ice. Most likely there lantic shoreline in New Hampshire. eggs providing food for many bird species, horizon, the water looks blue in the sun- are mummichog fish, crabs and shrimp Ice rafting also happens in rocky areas, some of which rely on the additional en- shine, but when a cloud passes overhead, it buried in the mud at the bottom of the where it rips away the fucoid, or brown ergy to migrate. becomes a muted gray. pool, where they will stay until the sun’s algae that grows there, including knobbed This spring, the animals and plants Above our heads, the dead stems of warmth and light sends them the memo to wrack (Ascophyllum nodosumm), which is and land and water will continue their common reed (Phragmites australis)—this come out. Snow acts as an insulator, keep- commonly recognizable as seaweed. How- inter-relationships into summer, fall, and particular bunch is a native stand (we can ing the creatures underneath protected. ever, if deposited in a marsh, the fucoid al- then return to another winter, where dark tell because it has lost its leaves)—line the Burrowed in their winter homes, they are gae ultimately form free-living plants that and cold will tell them to die back, slow outer edge of the marsh and rustle dryly in oblivious to the influx of the tides, which appear quite different than their original down and once again wait to emerge into the wind, inviting us to enter. bring seawater in and out twice a day. The sources. Plants or animals produced in re- life. Once we pass the taller growth, the velocity and depth of the tides fluctuate sponse to habitat factors such as ice rafting marsh reminds me of a sort of winter with the position of the moon in an an- are called ecads. Typically the fucoid ecads Catherine Coletti is assistant editor of Wild West, wide open and the wind now cient dance. grow entangled within the cordgrass and the Gulf of Maine Times. whipping around my hair. The leaves and During low tides, thin layers of ice form extensive biomass, particularly during

The Presumpscot: A river in recovery

By Matt Craig sumpscot main stem (see the Gulf of Maine or decades, locals turned their backs Times, Fall 2007). Fto the Presumpscot River, the largest Even the historical freshwater source to Casco Bay in Maine. pollution has served as One of the earliest industrialized rivers in an unlikely ally to keep New England, the Presumpscot was no- the land undeveloped. torious for emitting noxious fumes, some That land along the might say, strong enough to peel the paint river corridor today off of those houses unfortunate enough to presents unique op- be built near its shores. portunities for land Despite its polluted past, or perhaps protection adjacent to because of it, the river also has known urban areas. many allies, including former Senator To address the George Mitchell (Dem., former Senate need for further wa- Majority Leader), who once declared, “It’s ter quality improve- not often we’re given a second chance with ments that promote something as fragile as a river. Let’s keep the return of native working on it. After all, the Presumpscot fish species, the Casco River has worked hard in the service of Bay Estuary Partner- mankind for hundreds of years. It’s time ship, in collaboration we returned that favor.” with the Presumpscot Recently, concerned stakeholders have River Watershed Co- joined with municipalities, non-govern- alition, was awarded a mental organizations, industry, and state $740,000 U.S. Envi- COURTESY: ANDY COLVIN and federal agencies to do just that. In ronmental Protection Presumpscot River Watch staff Forrest Bell (on shore) and Tim Bennett anchor a data sonde, or instrument 1999, pulp mills ceased discharges to the Agency Targeted Wa- package, in the Pleasant River, a tributary to the Presumpscot River. Presumpscot, dramatically improving wa- tershed grant in 2005. ter quality. In 2002, the Smelt Hill Dam, As part of the Presumpscot Watershed Municipalities continue to commit Despite centuries of intensive industri- the lowest of the nine dams on the river, was Initiative, farmers have volunteered to steer substantial amounts of staff time, equip- al use and pollution, the citizens of the Pre- removed so the lower seven miles (11 kilo- livestock away from tributaries toward al- ment and materials to stabilize degraded sumpscot watershed are showing that it is meters) of the Presumpscot and 100 miles ternate watering systems to prevent fecal stream crossings and replace undersized never too late to turn back to the river. The (160 kilometers) of tributaries now flow contamination. Youth conservation corps culverts, while promoting yardscaping pro- Presumpscot is now a river in recovery. freely to Casco Bay, allowing unrestricted have restored riparian buffers and mitigat- grams that encourage residents to embrace access for anadromous (sea-run) fish. In ed decades of erosion while fostering stew- low-impact lawn care. Students are learn- Matt Craig is the technical program co- 2005, a project to enhance fish passage at ardship in their communities. Watershed ing about the history and ecology of the ordinator with the Casco Bay Estuary Part- the Highland Lake dam enabled the return golf courses have agreed to strive for Audu- river through place-based experiential les- nership in Portland, Maine. of alewives to spawning grounds. In 2007, bon International Sanctuary certification sons. All the while, dedicated volunteers citizen, industry and agency stakeholders to improve habitat, reduce water quality are sampling water quality, complement- For more information visit: reached a preliminary agreement to restore impacts and appeal to the green-minded ing thousands of data points and building http://presumpscotcoalition.org fish passage at existing dams on the Pre- golfer. a baseline of data for the future. Page 10 Gulf of Maine Times Winter/Spring 2008 Ripples, Dunes, and Other Natural Features visit the shore in the winter months; Po- Book Review of the Seashore, William Neal, Orrin Pilkey pham Beach and other beaches along the Atlantic Coast Beaches and Joseph Kelley write: “We love the beach, Gulf of Maine are ideal places to find such the critters it holds and nurtures, and the formations. Reviewed by Lee Bumsted complex mechanisms that make it work. The chapter “Can You Read a Beach?” We’re intrigued by the physical processes contains some great tips on being a beach any of us return year after year to a that one can observe and understand if one detective: how to observe naturally occur- Mparticular coastal beach. This special learns how to read the beach.” In this engag- ring foam, wind structures in sand, sand stretch of sand or stones could be near our ing book, they help us appreciate our own layers, foot-sucking “bubbly sand,” and home or our summer vacation spot, or beach and give us tools to be more attentive patterns left by invertebrates and plants. perhaps it is a day-trip destination. If we’re observers of the forces at work on it. The authors “recommend that you put lucky, we get to visit it not just in the sum- Neal, Pilkey, and Kelley explain beach down your beer, binoculars, fishing pole, mer, but in all seasons. For me, that beach influences as large as geologic setting, tides, or the novel you brought to the beach and is found at Popham Beach State Park in and storms and as small as the microscopic make some close-up beach observations.” Phippsburg, Maine. organisms that live between grains of sand. In another chapter they discuss the variety Our favorite beach is different every They describe processes that occur over of minerals and shells that make up sand, time we see it. We may wonder why it has long periods of time and others whose evi- and how a handful of sand can tell much a new contour, or notice that its surface dence is erased with the incoming tide. The about the beach’s origins. has beautiful ripple patterns. It could be chance to see short-lived seasonal features, Because one intention of this book covered by interesting wrack or foam of such as frozen wave swash (the water and is to take people beyond looking for sea- unknown origin. Dunes may have shifted materials carried onto the shore when a shells, shells are described primarily in the or new salt-tolerant plants taken root. The wave breaks) or an ice foot (a narrow strip context of how they came to be on a given sand may even sing to us. of ice formed on the shore by the gradual beach. Fossil shells are more common than Atlantic Coast Beaches: A Guide In Atlantic Coast Beaches: A Guide to freezing of wave spray) is a good reason to might be expected. They originate in an- to Ripples, Dunes, and Other cient rock on the sea floor. As an interest- ing aside, the mechanism that causes 80 to Natural Features of the Seashore 90 percent of shells to rest on the beach By William J. Neal, Orrin H. Pilkey and concave side down is revealed. Joseph T. Kelley The authors are able guides to this Mountain Press Publishing Company beach-reading. All three have written books 250 pp., $20.00 paperback on environmental problems facing East Coast beaches but have teamed up here to focus on natural processes. William Neal has been artificially replenished eight times is professor emeritus and past chairman of since 1969. Importing beach material has the Department of Geology at Grand Val- the further ill effect of smothering native ley State University in Michigan. Orrin invertebrates and plants. Pilkey is professor emeritus in the Nicho- Many photographs and diagrams las School of the Environment and Earth complement the text and a helpful glos- Science at Duke University in North Caro- sary is included. Canadian readers should lina. Joseph Kelley is a Maine native who note that the beaches used as examples are is chairman of the Department of Earth limited to those found between Maine and Science at the University of Maine. Florida. While the authors’ primary focus Oh, about those singing beaches. It’s is natural processes, they do write that a sound sometimes made when dry sand “beaches are indestructible, except when grains of similar size slide against each oth- humans get involved.” They describe the er, as when children or playful adults shuf- negative consequences of trying to main- fle along. It’s just one of the many things tain beaches in fixed locations in front readers will know to look and listen for on of buildings sited too close to the water- their next walk along their favorite beach. front. Shore-hardening structures such as seawalls cut beaches off from replenishing Lee Bumsted writes on conservation and sand. Beach nourishment programs are also outdoor recreation topics from South Port- PHOTO: NEAL, PILKEY, KELLEY Toadstool-shaped pedestal structures form as the wind removes the surrounding and temporary solutions, as factors that led to land, Maine. underlying dry sand from a cohesive biscuit-shaped mass of sand. the original sand loss are still present. For instance, the beach at Camp Ellis, Maine,

The Gulf of Maine Times 2007-2008 Members Resources ...for and about the Gulf of Maine is made possible in part Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment by a grant from: Jim Abraham, Director General John M. MacDonald, Vice President Stream Barrier Removal Monitoring Guide Atlantic Environment Canada Energy Delivery & Generation Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Manchester, New Hampshire The Stream Barrier Removal Monitoring Guide provides a framework of critical monitoring Priscilla M. Brooks, Director Leslie-Ann McGee, Director Marine Resources Project Massachusetts Office of Coastal parameters for use at dam and culvert removal sites in the Gulf of Maine watershed. Eight param- Conservation Law Foundation Zone Management eters presented in the guide will allow restoration practitioners to document the physical, chemical For general information about the Boston, Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts and biological effects of stream barrier removal. The parameters are monumented cross sections, Gulf of Maine Council, please call: Thomas S. Burack, Commissioner Marvin Moriarty, Regional Director longitudinal profile, grain size distribution, photo stations, water quality, riparian plant community Michele L. Tremblay New Hampshire Department of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Services Hadley, Massachusetts structure, macroinvertebrates and fish passage. The guide presents the scientific context for barrier Gulf of Maine Council Coordinator Concord, New Hampshire (603) 796-2615 Michael Murphy removal and gives detailed methods and data sheets for six parameters. It is based on input from Bruce K. Carlisle, Assistant Director Acting Regional Director more than 70 scientists, natural resource managers, engineers, consultants and staff from non- To speak with someone in your Massachusetts Office of Coastal Oceans and Habitat Branch jurisdiction about the Gulf of Maine Zone Management Department of Fisheries and Oceans governmental organizations in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Nova Council and related Boston, Massachusetts Bedford Institute of Oceanography Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Scotia. Published in December 2007, the Monitoring Guide was produced by the River Restoration activities, please call: Ron Chisholm, Minister Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aqua- John Nelson, Director Monitoring Steering Committee of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. View Maine culture Marine Fisheries the guide at: http://gulfofmaine.org/streambarrierremoval. Elizabeth Hertz Halifax, Nova Scotia New Hampshire Fish and Game

Department State Planning Office Rick Doucet, Minister Durham, New Hampshire (207) 287-8935 New Brunswick Department of Fisheries Mark Parent, Minister More Resources... Massachusetts Fredericton, New Brunswick Nova Scotia Department of

Environment and Labour Julia Knisel Martha Freeman, Director Halifax, Nova Scotia The Gulf of Maine Biodiversity Discovery Corridor is a swath of ocean and Office of Coastal Zone Maine State Planning Office Management Augusta, Maine Stephen Perkins, Director underlying seafloor extending from shore to deep sea that is the focus of regional

(617) 626-1191 Office of Ecosystem Protection Carolyn Gravel, Manager biodiversity investigations. A compilation of historic research in Discovery Corridor U.S. Environmental Protection Environmental Affairs Agency waters, prepared to guide future research, is available at: http://www.marinebiodiver- New Brunswick Shipping Federation of Canada Boston, Massachusetts Jane Spavold Tims Montréal, Quebec sity.ca/cmb/Members/lou-van-guelpen/discovery-corridor/index.htm.... The December

Department of Environment Jennifer Smith, Manager Roland Haché, Minister 2007/January 2008 issue of MPA News (Vol. 9, No. 6) includes the results of a poll GIS/Conservation Planning (506) 457-4846 New Brunswick Department of WWF-Canada Atlantic Program on what should be done when Marine Protected Areas do not meet their goals. Environment Halifax, Nova Scotia New Hampshire Fredericton, New Brunswick Visit: http://depts.washington.edu/mpanews/issues.html...The Food and Agriculture

Ted Diers Lee Sochasky, Executive Director W. Donald Hudson, President Organization of the United Nations’ Fisheries and Aquaculture Department has St. Croix International Waterway Department of Environmental The Chewonki Foundation Commission launched a Web site to increase knowledge on the contribution of Marine Protected Services Wiscasset, Maine (603) 559-0027 Calais, Maine Areas to fisheries management. See: http://www.fao.org/fishery/mpas... The first Byron James, Deputy Minister Greg Thompson Department of Agriculture and newsletter on “GISFish,” the Global Gateway to Geographic Information Systems, Fundy North Fishermen’s Nova Scotia Aquaculture Association Remote Sensing and Mapping for Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries, is available at: Tracey Barbrick Fredericton, New Brunswick Department of Environment Dipper Harbour, New Brunswick http://www.fao.org/fi/gisfish/newsletter/en/november_2007.html...The Canadian Aqua- and Labour George D. Lapointe, Commissioner Maine Department of Marine culture R&D Review includes information on recent and completed research projects (902) 424-7337 Resources related to salmon, trout, charr, oysters, mussels and other species. Visit: http://www. Augusta, Maine aquacultureassociation.ca. Winter/Spring 2008 Gulf of Maine Times Page 11 Herring continued from Page 1 time. “They have no new information from the last go-around,” she said. animals that feed on them.” The Herring Alliance is calling for the Herring have long been important NEFMC to create a monitoring system for humans as well. Traditionally, they that ups the number of observers on her- were harvested from fixed-gear traps called ring boats. But that’s easier said than done. weirs, or caught in purse-seine nets drawn In 2005, observers were present on about around their schools as they surfaced at 20 percent of herring fishing trips, Steele night to feed on plankton. In parts of said. The last two years, that number has Canada, such as the Bay of Fundy, herring been much lower. Observers are funded by harvest methods are still fairly traditional, the National Marine Fisheries Service, she said Gary Melvin, a herring scientist at the said, and NMFS has to prioritize the bud- Canadian Department of Fisheries and get it’s handed by Congress. Oceans Biological Station in St. Andrews, For the record, stressed Tooley, “we’re New Brunswick. In U.S. waters, on the other hand, the face of the herring fishery ‘When the trawl fleet moves has changed. In the last decade or so, large boats known as midwater trawlers have be- in en masse, they can take so come the norm—and the source of much much herring so fast that the of the current controversy over the fishery. predators leave.’ Midwater trawlers tow vast nets to round up herring, often working in pairs with one net stretched between them. not against increasing observer coverage.” “The nets can be as long and as wide as a COURTESY: CHOIR COALITION Rather, she said, the industry resists the football field, and six to eight stories tall,” A pod of pilot whales next to a long herring net being towed by a midwater trawler. idea put forward by some environmental- Baker said. “You’ve seen this shift in how ists that boat owners should pay upwards of herring are harvested. That’s what concerns $1,000 a day to fund observers themselves. a lot of us.” dian and U.S. waters, the countries assess ed. “The concern voiced to the council is “We don’t think it’s fair to single us out the stock jointly. The last Transboundary about the need for better monitoring and among all the fisheries and say you have to Resource Assessment Committee report accounting of catch and bycatch.” have your own observers,” she said. Fast Facts: Lobster Snacks in 2006 found the Gulf of Maine stock Herring fishermen argue that they’re Now that the NEFMC has voted to nce upon a time, most of the was healthy. “The fishery is in pretty good abiding by management rules, and that no add herring to its 2008 priority list, there’s Oherring netted in the Gulf of shape,” said Lori Steele, the Herring Fish- evidence of a bycatch problem exists. Her- nothing for either side to do except wait. Maine ended up in sardine tins. To- ery Management Plan Coordinator at the ring swim high in the water column, they It could be two years or more before any day, only one cannery remains in New NEFMC. “The resource is not overfished point out, and the trawl nets don’t come amendments are finalized and added to the England. Some 60 to 80 percent of and overfishing is not occurring.” anywhere near the seafloor, where ground- management plan, Steele said. The council herring landings return to the sea as While herring remain abundant over- fish such as cod and haddock spend most will take a hard look at the fishery, she said, lobster bait. all, they may be hard-hit in the inshore ar- of their time. and explore different programs for moni- The fish are so popular as bait, in eas popular with trawlers. “When the trawl Furthermore, they said, the NEFMC toring just what goes into the nets. “We fact, that Gulf of Maine Research In- fleet moves in en masse, they can take so just implemented new regulations in the need more information to better iden- stitute scientists are now investigating much herring so fast that the predators summer of 2007. Under the new amend- tify what specific problems there may be,” whether all that herring bait has fueled leave. As the midwater trawl fleet has ex- ments, only fixed-gear and purse-seine fish- Steele said, adding that questions about the growth of the lobster population ploded, tuna landings have plummeted,” ermen can harvest herring in the inshore bycatch and inshore depletion, “certainly in the Gulf of Maine. said Baker. “It’s a recipe for disaster.” area between June and September. Mary are valid concerns. And I think the council Bycatch is another concern. By the Beth Tooley, a spokesperson for the Small has responded to that.” time trawlers haul in the nets, everything in Pelagics Group, which represents fishing The question for the NEFMC is them is typically dead. Bycatch stand little vessel owners, said it’s too soon to know Kirsten Weir is a free-lance writer in whether that concern should translate into chance of being thrown back alive. “There if the new amendment will have a positive Saco, Maine, who focuses on science, health new management measures. Because Gulf are questions about what the fleet may be effect—and it’s unfair to saddle fishermen and the environment. of Maine herring move between Cana- catching in terms of bycatch,” Steele not- with additional regulations in the mean-

Genetics sorts local part of a New Hampshire Sea Grant- or if samples from the past were simply funded project. misidentified. It is possible that a species from alien seaweed The puzzle involves sorting out red considered to be a newcomer to the area seaweed species. Researchers, resource has actually been here for quite a long By Rebecca Zeiber managers and others are concerned time, Mathieson said. over whether or not many of the Por- This research requires going back to each combing on a frigid, blustery phyra species found in New England historical collections of seaweeds held in BNew England winter day might not are originally from the region or if they herbariums where samples are kept from be a very popular activity, but for research- are instead a Japanese cultivar, a plant 200 years ago in some cases, rehydrat- ers at the University of New Hampshire, variety propagated for specific traits. ing the samples, and then doing genetic or UNH, it’s helping to solve a scientific This concern stems from the potential analyses on a small piece of the old sea- puzzle in the seaweed world. The mystery of non-native species to use the habitat weed. involves a “who’s who” in which two plant and resources necessary for the survival Once analyses are conducted on types may look the same but are vastly dif- of native plants. both the old and new samples, the genet- ferent. One type is native, while the other Porphyra is commonly known by ics can be compared to see if a Japanese came from Japan, perhaps carried by shell- the Japanese name “nori” and is the cultivar has been introduced recently and fish or the hulls of ships or spread by grow- seaweed used to make sushi, Neefus is spreading or if it was here hundreds of ers of the seaweed in certain areas off the explained. It is grown on nets in Asia years ago without scientists knowing it. Northeast U.S. coast. to supply the $1.2 billion per year nori However, it can be extremely difficult to The first piece of the puzzle involves industry, he said, but has escaped and determine how a species came to be in collecting samples. Jeremy Nettleton, a become widely established in natural a particular region. The Japanese culti- master’s candidate in plant biology at the habitats. var tends to have narrower blades. The university, searches for red seaweed (genus “This cultivar is selected to grow genetic analysis indicates there may be Porphyra) along the intertidal zone. From more quickly and have larger blades, different chromosome counts for differ- December through May, Nettleton travels and it is more likely to outcompete ent Porphyra species, but more research to sites along the New England coast to native species if environmental condi- COURTESY: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE is needed. collect long blades of Porphyra. Conduct- tions are favorable,” Nettleton added. Student Shelly Dare looks for genetic clues to The goal is to determine the poten- ing field research during the winter is a Therefore, it is important to determine identify non-native seaweed. tial impacts the Japanese cultivar might necessity, since that is when it is easiest to their current and historical distribution have on native species. Once this puzzle find the blades. in New England. This requires comparing easy to conduct molecular analyses on is more complete, the information will be Back at the lab, Shelly Dare, also both new samples and specimens collected them,” said Nettleton. However, the older used to improve management along the a master’s candidate in plant biology, years ago from the same region. Many of herbarium samples that Dare works with coast of New England. searches through seaweed specimens from the old samples were misidentified, so sea- are not always in as good a condition. This “We want to inform coastal managers regional herbariums to determine if previ- weed thought to be native might actually makes the task of sorting out native versus about the threat that the Japanese cultivar ously collected samples were misidentified have been the Japanese cultivar. cultivar more difficult. may or may not pose to native plant spe- and to find out how long each species has “I can’t tell the difference between the DNA sequencing of the species re- cies, and then help managers decide what been growing in a particular region. These native species and the Japanese cultivar by quires being able to compare present-day actions they should or should not take as a two students, along with their advisors Art sight,” Dare laughed, and she works with samples collected throughout the coastal result,” Nettleton added. Mathieson and Chris Neefus, both UNH them every day. The morphological traits regions of New England with species col- professors of plant biology, often work side are too similar, she said, and thus genetic lected from the region in the past. This Rebecca Zeiber writes for New Hamp- by side in the field and the lab. They are analyses are necessary to separate the two. enables researchers to determine if new shire Sea Grant in Durham, New Hamp- investigating Porphyra in New England as “My samples are pretty fresh, so it’s species have begun colonizing the region shire. Page 12 Gulf of Maine Times Winter/Spring 2008 Research Update Undersea vehicles look deep to watch offshore aquaculture pens

By Rebecca Milne sites,” said Pohle. ROVs are unmanned and Gerhard Pohle submersibles; they are not constrained by the depth limitations of divers, and they s fish farms move farther offshore may be a safer and more efficient method Aand into deeper waters, monitoring of collecting data at deeper sites. the environment around them poses big- ROVs are seeing increasing applica- ger challenges. A multi-partner project led tions ranging from oil platform and pipe- by the Huntsman Marine Science Centre line maintenance to underwater tree log (HMSC), St. Andrews, New Brunswick, is recovery and deep-sea exploration. This evaluating the use of remotely operated ve- project is pioneering ROV use in environ- hicles, or ROVs, for aquaculture in general mental monitoring for the aquaculture in- and sediment analysis in particular. While dustry. the HMSC sees a number of potential uses Realizing the large scope and cross- for ROVs in research and education, this jurisdictional application of this project, particular project focuses on environmen- institutions from both sides of the U.S.- tal monitoring of aquaculture. Canada border cooperated and contrib- Aquaculture today involves the farm- uted in the undertaking. With the help of ing of diverse organisms including fish, the New Brunswick Environmental Trust molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Fund, the Gulf of Maine Council on the PHOTO: GERHARD POHLE It is the fastest growing food production Marine Environment, the Canadian In- Pilot Rebecca Milne makes adjustments to the undersea vehicle. sector in the world. Consumers, regulators dustrial Research Assistance Program of and public interest groups concerned about the National Research Council, Business the environmental impacts of fish culture New Brunswick and Ocean Horizons, arm, the ROV is equipped with two video objects during visual surveying. Improve- operations are increasingly challenging fish the HMSC was able to purchase and de- cameras, one color and the other a low- ments are being made to the positioning farmers. As a result, regulatory agencies ploy a Stealth 2 ROV from Shark Marine light, black-and-white camera, useful in system, and on-screen readouts of water have developed monitoring programs to Technologies Inc., St. Catharines, Ontario. deep water or when using the two flood- temperature will be available. A clamshell address the environmental concerns raised Fisheries and Oceans Canada also contrib- lights is not helpful. “This is the case when sampler that can take larger volumes of by the discharge of organic waste into the uted training in geochemical sample analy- light reflects back from suspended matter material, such as for faunal analysis, also is surrounding water body. sis and advice on the design and specifica- close by or when the lights attract so many being field-tested. Effective and efficiently delivered envi- tions of the sediment sampler. organisms that they interfere with visibil- ronmental monitoring programs can help “While ROVs have been around for ity,” Pohle noted. ROVs have the potential to aquaculture grow in a socio-economically some time,” Pohle noted, “it has only been Cameras are principally used for navi- and environmentally sustainable manner. in recent years that costs have become rea- gation of the ROV and to run video for make environmental Monitoring the effect a fish farm has on sonable for smaller organizations such as environmental monitoring. They are cru- monitoring safer, simpler its surroundings allows for regulation and ours. As in the computer industry, with cial for using the unique sediment sam- and more efficient. modification of operations to keep impacts costs coming down, capabilities of ROVs pler. Development of the sampler was key to an acceptable and manageable level. have actually gone up.” Other than cost, to the success of this project, as obtaining This is done by studying the ocean floor size and weight are particularly important undisturbed sediment samples is necessary The HMSC hopes this new technol- under and surrounding the cage, or net factors, he said, because transportability for proper analysis. “We needed to obtain ogy will be adopted by the aquaculture pen, to see how much waste is accumulat- and ease of handling on board vessels are at least the top two centimetres (0.8 inch) industry, particularly at offshore sites, to ing. Monitoring typically involves visual essential. This particular machine is rela- of sediment in an ‘as-is’ state to correctly promote sustainability. It could provide inspection and evaluating how much or- tively small, and with a weight of about 45 determine surface conditions,” Pohle said. uniform and efficient environmental mon- ganic loading from fish feces and uneaten kilograms (100 pounds), does not require It is important that the sediment sample is itoring of sites as well as broaden the in- food has disturbed the natural undisturbed because the required formation made available to farmers. The ecology. geochemical information is in ROV has the potential to make environ- In most jurisdictions, field the top 2.54 centimetres (1 inch) mental monitoring safer, simpler and more data currently are collected of the sediment. efficient. Beyond aquaculture, HMSC Di- with sediment samples for geo- In order to accomplish this rector Robertson sees potential for a variety chemical or biological analysis, with an ROV, the HMSC com- of uses of the ROV that include enhancing combined with a video survey missioned a sampling apparatus education and research programs “that we of the sea floor. Currently, developed specifically for this are only beginning to explore.” commercial divers collect this purpose. The sediment sampler For example, since the fish farm proj- information. However, as the uses a pneumatic piston pow- ect, the ROV has been used on a number trend in aquaculture towards ered by a small air tank to push of missions related to ocean energy extrac- deeper sites offshore contin- in and retract a triplicate set of tion in the Bay of Fundy. A renewable re- ues, it is becoming more dif- sampling tubes from the sedi- source that can meet the social standards ficult and dangerous to use ment. Custom-made, one-way of sustainability, tidal in-stream energy divers. Recent innovations in valves prevent the loss of material development is currently a major area of aquaculture methods, the lack when the sample is retracted. A activity in both Canada and the United of suitable aquaculture sites rotating carousel then moves the States. With its high ocean tidal cycles, the near-shore and the require- tubes out of the way and brings Bay of Fundy is of particular interest. The ments of species new to aqua- COURTESY: HUNTSMAN MARINE another set of triplicate tubes HMSC ROV has been used over the last culture all are contributing to The diversity of organisms in the Gulf of Maine shown by under- into deployment position to take six months to characterize physical and the growing trend towards off- water video survey for the Ocean Energy project in 2007. the next set of samples. Watch- biological attributes of potential sites us- shore aquaculture. ing this on screen, the operator ing videography. This included a number Because there are limitations in us- any special gear to get onto a boat or in and can make adjustments in positioning the of successful fly-through dives at depths ing divers for environmental monitoring, out of the water. “Basically, we can pack tubes. In this way, three triplicate samples exceeding 100 metres (328 feet), at sites in there is a need for reliable and consistent everything into a 1.2-by-0.9-meter (4-by- can be taken per dive. Obtaining triplicate Head Harbour Passage and Western Pas- data collection at the deeper sites. HMSC’s 3-foot) container and head off to wherever samples increases statistical confidence in sage near the Canada/U.S. border that ex- new division, the International Aquacul- we are needed,” he said. the results and gives an indication of vari- perience current speeds of up to 6 knots. ture Innovation Centre (IAIC), is a pre- The ROV is rated to a depth of 305 ability. The ROV collected important evi- commercial testing facility addressing the metres (1,000 feet), and so is capable of The usefulness of ROV technology dence on substrate suitability and biologi- issue. IAIC investigates issues challeng- monitoring deep water sites where moni- in aquaculture monitoring can be seen in cal diversity that will help in the overall as- ing sustainability and productivity of the toring would have been impractical or in- favourable costs and clear safety benefits, sessment in terms of impact and resource aquaculture sector. complete in the past. particularly at deep water sites. Other ad- potential. Gerhard Pohle, senior research scien- The ROV is operated with a computer vantages to the fish farmer include real- tist at HMSC, started the ROV project topside that is connected to the vehicle by time video feedback at the surface so that Rebecca Milne works at Huntsman after hearing about a conversation between a 305-metre (1,000-foot) umbilical cable. farm management can instantly adjust op- Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, New William Robertson, HMSC’s new execu- The ROV pilot commands the ROV via erations, such as changing feeding sched- Brunswick, as an ROV and lab technician. tive director, and Larry Ingalls, president a computer using a wireless controller de- ules. The ROV also can be more frequently Gerhard Pohle is senior research scientist at of Ocean Horizons Ltd., a salmon-farming vice. For navigation, the pilot uses a live deployed, allowing more feedback to the the Centre. The aquaculture research in this company. “Bill’s experience in aquaculture video feed, scanning sonar that works like operator and the ability to mitigate envi- story was funded by a grant from the Gulf operations and Larry’s desire to adapt mon- radar to detect obstacles, and a tracking ronmental impacts as they occur. of Maine Council on the Marine Environ- itoring to the industry moving offshore led system that displays the ROV’s precise po- The ROV presently is undergoing ment, which also sponsors The Gulf of Maine us to investigate ROVs as a possible alter- sition relative to the deployment vessel. a factory refit to enhance it with a laser Times. native to scuba divers for work at deeper In addition to a standard grappling scaling system for determining the size of