A piece of coastline in Chance Harbour, N.B. is littered with what residents describe as an island of seaweed and garbage.

For three days, Eric tally has been filling and refilling his cart with trash.

On Tuesday, a massive belt of seaweed brought in thousands of items, mostly plastics to the shoreline.

"And it was deposited through high, high surf the night before on our beach and I came down with my camera and we were slack jawed to say the least," says resident Natalie Tapley.

The deposit of seaweed and garbage stretches more than a kilometer, the full length of the beach.

It’s the rope that bothers Eric Tapley the most.

"The Bay of Fundy is home to right whales,” says Eric. “There’s less than 300 of them left on the planet, and right now, they are all right out there and I don't want them tangled up in ropes,"

The volume of the garbage that's been found on the beach makes this case a little bit different, but the experts say the material itself is sadly typical of what is washing up from The Bay of Fundy.

It's also not uncommon for vast quantities of refuse to congregate.

"In the ocean there are cells that are created by currents where all these materials come together,” says Tim Vickers, with Atlantic Coastal ActionProgram in Saint John.  “And if one of those cells was pushed into the area by Arthur, for example, then yes, you could get large volumes that come in all at once."

The Tapley’s fear the high tide and high surf will drag the trash back into the bay.

"Time and tide wait for no man,” says Eric.  “And I have one eye on that tide and the tide charts and we have a small window of opportunity to get this garbage off before she comes in and takes it all back out again."

With files from CTV’s Mike Cameron.