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Research offers deep dive into health of Saint John Harbour ecosystem

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New public data is offering new depths of understanding about ecosystems beneath and along Saint John Harbour.

Information from the last five years is now online for projects completed within the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program.

“This program isn’t really about measuring good versus bad, but rather measuring how the harbour is right now at this time,” says Bethany Reinhart, a biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

“The partners we’re working with represent Indigenous organizations, the marine fishing industry, environmental non-profits, academics, and the government. And these are all collecting data on everything from water quality, to fish species, invasive species, seabirds, wetlands, contaminants, and micro plastics.”

The Fundy North Fishermen’s Association is collecting data on Bay of Fundy surface currents to create a model predicting where any oil spill might travel.

“Management decisions and conservation are the goal here,” says Reinhart.

The Atlantic Coastal Action Program – or ACAP Saint John – is tracking seal populations and movements at six different sites on a bi-weekly basis during low tide.

The organization is collecting new data and comparing it to the most recent information collected by Dr. Jack Terhune at the University of New Brunswick in the 1990s.

“We were able to actually study the seals all year round, whereas in the 1990s, the seals actually migrated in the winter,” says Shauna Sands, the conservation coordinator for ACAP Saint John. “So, we’re still seeing seals 12 months out of the year compared to Dr. Terhune’s study where he noted the seals left in December and came back in May.”

'PERFECT LOCATION'

Several locations across the region were considered for the program.

“There would be several great sites in the Maritimes for this work,” says Reinhart. “But the Saint John Harbour is sort of a perfect location for this.”

Reinhart says diverse industrial activity in the harbour, along with the area’s unique tidal patterns, made Saint John a smart site for study.

“It’s also understudied,” says Reinhart. “There were a lot of gaps in the data.”

“There are good and bad things about the Saint John Harbour and it really depends on what you’re looking at, and what you’re measuring and where you’re looking. If you’re measuring contaminants in Marsh Creek versus Bay Shore Beach, you’re going to have really different results. It’s a really complex and dynamic system in Saint John Harbour.

The program’s other Canadian locations include Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Iqaluit in Nunavut, the St. Lawrence Estuary in Quebec, and Placenta Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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