The Changing Bay of Fundy: Beyond 400 Years
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Changing Bay of Fundy: Beyond 400 Years Proceedings of the 6th Bay of Fundy Workshop Cornwallis, Nova Scotia September 29th – October 2nd, 2004 Editors J. A. Percy, A. J. Evans, P. G. Wells, and S. J. Rolston Environment Canada–Atlantic Region Occasional Report No. 23 Environment Canada, Dartmouth, NS and Sackville, NB March 2005 Acknowledgements This publication should be cited as: J. A. Percy, A. J. Evans, P. G. Wells, and S. J. Rolston. (Eds.). 2005. The Changing Bay of Fundy— Beyond 400 Years. Proceedings of the 6th Bay of Fundy Workshop, Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Septem- ber 29 – October 2, 2004. Environment Canada–Atlantic Region, Occasional Report No. 23, Environment Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Sackville, New Brunswick, 480 pp. + xliv. Copies can be obtained from: Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) Secretariat Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research Acadia University Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6 P. G. Wells Ecosystem Science and Information Division Canadian Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Branch Environment Canada–Atlantic Region 45 Alderney Drive Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 2N6 Published under the authority of the Minister of Environment ISBN 0-662-39437-2 ISSN 1195-664X Catalogue No. CW69-12/22-2005E Dedication This workshop report recognizes the continued efforts of all citizens and organizations living on or around the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine, committed to the sustainable use of the region’s living and non-living resources and to the protection and conservation of its many ecosystems and diverse wildlife. Such efforts, one by one and collectively, and often against great odds, offer hope to the future of this unique and irreplacable coastal region of the Canadian Maritimes and the New England States. ii Acknowledgements Contents Preface xiii Overview of the Workshop xiv Acknowledgements xxxix Workshop Organizers xl Sponsors xli Exhibitors xli Awards Presented at the Workshop xlii About the Key Sponsors xliii The Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment Environment Canada Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research Bay of Fundy Marine Centre PLENARY LECTURES The Past: “Early Perspectives on the Fundy Environment” Heather MacLeod 1 The Present: “The Bay of Fundy at a Turning Point” Arthur Bull 13 The Future: “Who Should Speak for the Oceans: New and Emerging Ideas for Ocean Management” Arthur Hanson 23 Fundy Festival Public Lecture: “Struggling in an Urban Ocean: The Plight of the North Atlantic Right Whale” Moira Brown 33 PAPER PRESENTATIONS [Included on CD Only] Session 1. Contaminants and Ecosystem Health A. Nutrients, Degradable Wastes and Micro-organisms The Management of Wastes from Atlantic Seafood Processing Operations J. C. Corkum, M. T. Grant and C. J. Morry 45 iii Contents Characterization of Fish Processing Plant Effluents in the Atlantic Region—2003 C. Garron and L. Rutherford 47 Characterization of the Escherichia coli Populating the Aqueous, Sediment and Animal Components of a Bay of Fundy-Associated Estuary G. Bezanson, S. Sanford, C. MacDonald and C. Scott 53 Microbial Source Tracking: Towards Effective Fecal Pollution Source Identification D. Sullivan 55 B. Chemical and Biological Interactions Recent Heavy Metal Measurements in the Bay of Fundy P. A. Yeats and J. A. Dalziel 56 The Roles of Corophium volutator and Mercury in Compromising Shorebird Migration A. S. Didyk, N. A. Bourgeoise, P. A. Arp, J. Bourque, B. Braune, G. K. Cox, C. Ritchie, P. G. Wells and M. D. B. Burt 62 Spatial Variability of Heavy Metals in Salt Marsh Sediments of the Bay of Fundy G. A. Hung and G. L. Chmura 68 Prevalence and Bioaccumulation of Methyl Mercury in the Food Web of the Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine G. Harding, J. Dalziel and P. Vass 76 An Ecosystem-scale Model of Mercury Dynamics in Passamaquoddy Bay E. M. Sunderland 78 Contaminant Concentrations and Biomarker Changes in Wild Mussels near Finfish Aquaculture Facilities and Municipal/Industrial Activities in the Lower Bay of Fundy M. B. Engel, K. Kim, S. St. Jean, F. Gagné, K. Burnison and R. Losier 79 Contaminant Partitioning and Uptake for Risk Assessment of Toxicity with Corophium volutator J. Hellou, M-L. Jouvenelle, J. Leonard, S. Robertson and S. Steller 82 Environmental Impacts of Blasting for Stone Quarries near the Bay of Fundy M. Ashraf Mahtab, K. L. Stanton and V. Roma 87 iv Contents SESSION 2. ECOLOGY OF SEABIRDS AND SHOREBIRDS Feeding Areas of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) Breeding on Machias Seal Island, New Brunswick A. L. Black and A. W. Diamond 101 A Possible Reason for the Disappearance of Phalaropes from around Deer and Campobello Islands: Availability of their Favourite Prey J. W. Chardine 105 Changes in the Feeding of Four Atlantic Seabirds on Machias Seal Island, New Brunswick L. I. Minich and A. W. Diamond 107 Factors Affecting Movement of Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) Migrating Through the Upper Bay of Fundy A. J. Sprague, A. W. Diamond and D. J. Hamilton 110 Returning Visitors: Semipalmated Sandpipers in Shepody Bay P. W. Hicklin 114 SESSION 3. COASTAL DEVELOPMENT AND SEDIMENT FLUX What is “Natural” in the Bay of Fundy? H. Kolstee 121 Sediment Movement in the Salmon River Estuary, Truro, Nova Scotia B. Crewe, G. Brewster, H. Kolstee and R. Gordon 123 The Effects of Large-Scale Barriers in Rivers of the Bay of Fundy: Observations from the Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick K. J. Curran, T. G. Milligan, G. Bugden, B. Law and M. D. Scotney 126 The Effects of Tidal Barriers in High Energy Environments: Consideration of Larger Space and Time Scales G. Bugden, T. G. Milligan, K. J. Curran and K. Butler 127 The Avon Causeway: Implications of the Causeway Removal H. Kolstee 128 Crossing Avon: Environmental Implications of Twinning Highway 101 G. R. Daborn, M. Brylinsky and D. van Proosdij 131 v Contents SESSION 4. SUSTAINABLE USE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE BAY OF FUNDY Community-based Co-management of Scotia-Fundy Groundfish: Toward Sustainable Fisheries and Sustainable Communities K. Bigney 135 Working with Minas Basin Watershed Community Groups L. M. McCuaig 144 The “Camel Principle”: Tools for Partnership Building S. Hawboldt 145 Defining the Role of the Coastal Planner in Nova Scotia C. M. TeKamp 146 Decision Making Under Uncertainty: A Logical (Rational) Approach C. Corkett 150 SESSION 5. SCIENCE, MAPPING AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Resolving the World’s Largest Tides C. T. O’Reilly, R. Solvason and C. Solomon 153 The Next 400 Years: Knowledge Gaps and Research Priorities for Adapting to Climate Change in the Bay of Fundy K. Parlee and K. McKenzie 158 Environment Canada’s Emergencies Mapping Program: An Internet Approach to Environmental Mapping A. Laflamme and R. J. Percy 159 Hyperspectral Imaging for Mapping Seagrass Distribution in Florida H. T. Ripley, W. Jones and P. Gagnon 172 The Potential for a Digital Geolibrary for the Gulf of Maine Region J. C. Boxall, K. Beard, and C. Brehme 175 SESSION 6. FISH, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE Historic Characterization of Changes to the Fish Community in the Avon River, Nova Scotia L. Isaacman and K. Beazley 189 vi Contents Benthic Macrofaunal Changes in the Letang Inlet: An Analysis Before and After Aquaculture. G. W. Pohle and D. J. Wildish 198 Efficacy of Releasing Captive Reared Broodstock into an Imperiled Wild Altantic Salmon Population as a Recovery Strategy J. W. Carr, F. G. Whoriskey and P. T. O’Reilly 199 Preventing Right Whale Entanglements in Fishing Gear in the Bay of Fundy. C. Merriman and S. C. Smith 200 SESSION 7. PROTECTING SPECIAL PLACES Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Regional Conservation Planning: A Framework for the Scotian Shelf and Gulf of Maine R. Rangeley, J. Crawford, J. Roff, J. Smith, H. Alidina, M. King, K. Larade, J. Laughren, S. Clark Stuart, T. Horsman and A. Chatwin 203 Developing a Strategic Framework for the Establishment of a National Marine Conservation Area in the Bay of Fundy V. K. Sheppard 207 Conservation and Local Communities: Exploring the Upper Bay of Fundy Biosphere Reserve Initiative in Nova Scotia C. Canning 215 EMAN and Protected Areas: Co-operating in Providing Information for Ecozone and Local Ecosystem Management B. Craig 217 The Proposed Musquash MPA: A Case Study on Boundary Delimitation Concepts S. Ng’ang’a and S. Nichols 218 SESSION 8. MONITORING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN COASTAL AREAS Development of an Effects-based Monitoring Protocol for Coastal Areas in the Bay of Fundy K. R. Munkittrick, L. E. Vallis, G. Vallieres, S. C. Courtenay and D. L. MacLatchy 229 Exploring the Use of Marine Gastropods as Environmental Monitors in the Bay of Fundy T. C. Edgell and R. Rochette 235 Structure of the Nearshore Fish Assemblage in the Lower Bay of Fundy: Short-term Variability and Implications for Sampling Design D. A. Methven, L. E. Peters and C. J. Arens 236 vii Contents The Reference Condition Approach: On Trial in the Bay of Fundy M. C. Westhead, G. R. Daborn and T. B. Reynoldson 237 Investigation-of-Cause Approach to Determining Sources of Contaminants at the Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. Mill in Saint John, New Brunswick D. L. MacLatchy, M. G. Dubé and M. L. Hewitt 238 Community Aquatic Monitoring Project to Quantify Ecological Impacts of Fish Processing Plants Discharging Effluents into Coastal Waters of the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence M-H. Thériault , S. C. Courtenay and K. R. Munkittrick 239 The Role of Community-based Monitoring in the Fundy Ecosystem: The Case Study of the Annapolis River Guardians A. Sharpe 243 SESSION 9. COASTAL HABITAT - EELGRASS AND SALT MARSH Status and Conservation of Eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Eastern Canada A. R. Hanson 247 Hyperspectral Imaging for Mapping Subtidal Invasive Algal Species P. Gagnon, H. T. Ripley, W. Jones, R.