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~ FUNDY
TIDINGS ~
October 2011 ~ Autumn Issue | |
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HEADLINES:
B. Partners and other organizations: C. Fundy/GOM and other News: D. ADMINISTRIVIA - [Subscribing and unsubscribing} | |
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1. BoFEP 9th Workshop a Success By all reports the 9th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop held September 27-30th at the Delta Brunswick in Saint John NB was a great success. With over 100 registrants, 53 excellent papers presented in 9 different sessions as well as a dozen posters, the event had something worthwhile for everyone and appears to have engendered lots of discussion, debate and networking….. all encouraging signs! Our thanks to ACAP Saint John for doing a great job of hosting the event under the very capable leadership of Executive Director Tim Vickers and his very efficient, multi- talented and ever cheerful sidekick Crystal Colpitts.
Students were a particularly active and vibrant part of the workshop once again and presented a commendable number of very high quality papers and posters. Judges were hard pressed to select the best graduate and undergraduate papers and posters given the high calibre of the competition. However, they final settled on the four winners, three of whom were captured digitally at the workshop banquet. Congratulations to each of them as well as to all of the students who participated so enthusiastically.
Also at the banquet, the 2011 Bay of Fundy Stewardship Award was presented to Stephen Hawboldt of Belleisle, NS for his decades of dedicated service to conserving and protecting the Bay of Fundy and its watersheds. The award citation and a photo of the presentations are available online.
Those of you who couldn't make it to the workshop can review the program to see what you missed or check out the abstract book for more details about the presentations. There will be a comprehensive Proceedings of the Workshop available online and on CD late this fall …. If authors submit their full papers or extended abstracts in a timely manner!!! You can consult the guidelines for submissions.
Thoughts are already turning to the next workshop in 2013, most probably somewhere in Nova Scotia, in keeping with our tradition of hopping deftly from side to side of the Bay. If you or your organization would like to consider hosting the event, then by all means drop us a line . Rest assured we'll get back to you PDQ!!!
2. BoFEP 2011 AGM October 27th in Joggins The Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, October 27th from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the Joggins Cliff Fossil Centre in Joggins N.S. In addition to the usual informative business meeting we will also have a special guest speaker. Noted naturalist and author Harry Thurston will talk about his latest book “The Atlantic Coast: A Natural History”. In addition, the world famous fossil of Hylonomus lyelli, will be returning to Britain soon after October 31st, so this may well be your last chance to see it. Mark your calendars now. A detailed agenda will be circulated and available online shortly. If you wish to participate or require further information then please contact the BoFEP Secretariat as soon as possible. Hope to see you all at the AGM. This is your chance to help chart the future direction of BoFEP.
3. Deadline for Voting in 7Wonders of Nature Campaign Don't forget to vote for our Bay of Fundy in the global New7Wonders of Nature campaign. Vote online at votemyfundy.com or text FUNDY to 77077 ($0.25/text). The official New7Wonders of Nature will be declared on 11.11.11, so vote soon. Winning will have a huge impact on raising the profile of the Bay of Fundy worldwide. More information.
4. Fundy National Marine Conservation area???? In response to a recent e-mail inquiry from BoFEP a Senior Planner with Parks Canada in Ottawa confirmed , "we have in fact completed a study in the Bay of Fundy. Called a regional analysis study, its purpose is to describe the physical, biological and cultural features which are typical of the region, as well as the human uses, with the objective of identifying "Representative Marine Areas" which provide outstanding representation of the Bay of Fundy’s features. A candidate national marine conservation area – the type of marine protected area administered by Parks Canada – is eventually selected from this group of representative areas, after consulting with the affected province. " She added that "We are currently finalizing preparations to release the report, but do not yet have an expected date I'm afraid", but promised to send the report to BoFEP as soon as it is released.
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B. Partners and other organizations:
1. Marine Spatial Planning Workshop Summary Available A Regional Workshop on "Marine Spatial Planning: A Technical Learning c Session", organized by the World Wildlife Fund and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), was held on 1-2 June 2011 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Workshop summary.
2. New Tidal Energy Institute at Acadia University In September, Acadia University announced the formation of the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute. This Institute is the only research institute in North America focused solely on assessing tidal energy resources and the associated environmental challenges and socio-economic opportunities. Strategically located on the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Basin, the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute will develop partnerships and lead multi-disciplinary research projects and other initiatives that address knowledge gaps associated with the developing tidal energy industry. The Institute will focus on tidal energy resource assessment, environmental monitoring and impacts, socio-economic growth, sustainable communities, and the development and delivery of tidal energy educational programs and other support materials. For further information, contact Dr. Anna Redden, the Director of the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute, at tidalenergy@acadiau.ca or by telephone at 902-585-1732.
3. Fournier Report on Marine Renewable Energy Legislation Last fall, the Province commissioned Dalhousie Oceanographer, Dr. Robert Fournier, to lead a public consultation process regarding options for Marine Renewable Energy Legislation. The consultation involved two public forums in Halifax and Wolfville, 18 written submissions, and a series of smaller meetings. As a result of the consultation process, Dr. Fournier has delivered a final report - the "Fournier Report" - to Government which includes 27 recommendations for the creation of future marine renewable energy policy and legislation. The report is organized under four main categories-planning, economic opportunities, research, and regulation. A discussion paper used in the public consultation on Marine Renewable Energy Legislation for Nova Scotia is also available.
4. 2012 Energy Research and Development Forum in Halifax The OEER and OETR Associations, in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Energy, will be hosting the 5th biannual Research & Development forum at the World Trade and Convention Centre May 16th and 17th, 2012. The goal is to inspire learning and collaboration and to stimulate important discussions about R&D challenges and opportunities in Nova Scotia's Energy sector. More information about the program and registration will be posted at: www.offshoreenergyresearch.ca.
5. New Brochure from Atlantic Salmon Federation A new colourful brochure about the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation is available from the Atlantic salmon Federation. Established through a one-time grant from the Government of Canada, the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation is an independent, registered charity incorporated as a non-profit organization under the Canada Corporations Act. The Interest from the Foundation’s grant supports activities related to the achievement of healthy, sustainable wild Atlantic salmon stocks in Atlantic Canada and Quebec through partnership with volunteer conservation groups, Aboriginal organizations, governments and others.
6. Gael Tours Explores Ecology and History A new business venture based in Digby, NS offers informative tours focussing either on the human or natural history of the area. The former is covered in the "Stones, Steeples, Ships and Seafood" tour, while the latter is the focus of the "Plankton, Periwinkles and Predators" tour. The tours are capably led by retired local high school science educator and naturalist Greg Turner. More information.
7. Deadline for Abstracts for Fisheries/Limnology/Wetlands Conference in Moncton October 31, 2011 is the fast-approaching deadline for submitting abstracts to the 2012 Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR), the Society of Canadian Limnologists (SCL) and the Canadian Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS), scheduled for 5-7 January 2012 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Call for papers.
8. NS Draft Coastal Strategy Receives Mixed Review On October 13, 2011 the Coastal Coalition of NS CCNS issued a press release about the provinces draft Coastal Strategy. Jennifer Graham, spokesperson for CCNS noted that her group is "pleased with many of the goals identified in the strategy, including establishing coastal development standards and setting targets for cleaning up polluted coastal areas. However, the Coalition believes these recommendations need to be tied to firm commitments for implementation with associated timelines and resources…..The Coalition is also disappointed the Strategy limits itself to 6 isolated coastal issues plus governance" and didn't deal with aquaculture.
9. Status of aquatic habitats in the Gulf of Maine In September, the Gulf of Maine Council's EcoSystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) released a fact sheet about aquatic habitats in the Gulf of Maine. The fact sheet summarizes data from the Gulf of Maine for three key indicators - eelgrass, salt marsh, and tidal restrictions- along with a snap shot of the indicator data. The fact sheet introduces the concept of indicators as a means for tracking change. It demonstrates the value of indicators as a tool to better understand the wide-ranging effects being seen in the Gulf of Maine region. The fact sheet also provides examples on how this habitat data can be accessed and how it might be used for planning and decision-making purposes.
10. DFO Shedding Services and Staff A CBC report on October 14, 2001 revealed that DFO will be 'winding down or shedding non-core programs,' as part of 'key transformations' intended to render a more modern style of managing fish stocks, ecosystems, aquaculture and vessels." A memo to employees from Claire Dansereau, Deputy Minister, suggests that "The department is moving to 'an ecosystems approach to science.'" The memo also outlines "initiatives that the department will be undertaking to pursue our modernization goals and, in turn, help to support the Government of Canada’s priorities".
11. Check out the latest Gulf of Maine Times The September 2011 edition of the Gulf of Maine Times is now available online and has some great stories from around the Gulf of Maine, including:
12. EAC Launches "Post for the Coast" Campaign The Ecology Action Centre is calling upon the public to contact the Nova Scotia government and urge it to improve and implement its draft Sustainable Coastal Development strategy. The group has prepared online postcards that you can use to send your comments and ideas directly to the Premier's inbox. The group's "Voices from the Coast" video, described in the last Fundy Tidings, is still available on You tube with 10 additional viewpoints added from people around the province.
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Fundy/GOM and
other News:
It appears that this August was a bumper year for rare Great White Sharks in the Bay of Fundy. A 10-11 foot one was caught early in August in a weir near Economy, NS by a local fisherman and featured in a video clip with narration by John Gilhen of the Nova Scotia Museum. Meanwhile, in the middle of August another 7.5 metre (25 feet) long Great White leapt out of the water in front of a startled group of whale watchers off Brier island. According to the Halifax Chronicle Herald "The animal is blamed for attacking a humpback whale … that showed up the same day with bloody, crescent-shaped marks on its back. "I couldn’t tell for sure if they were bite marks," said Reid Gillis, skipper of a second whale-watching boat who saw the wounds. It is unusual for great white sharks to attack whales or even to breach in Nova Scotia waters, said shark scientist Steven Campana, head of the Canadian Shark Research Lab at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth. It should be noted that swimmers typically avoid Fundy for thermal rather than elasmobranchial concerns.
2. Rock Snot Invades NB Rivers An invasive species of yellow brown freshwater diatom commonly known as rock snot or Didymosphenia geminata is appearing in Many New Brunswick rivers. The Atlantic Salmon Federation notes that " While it appears to be more of an aesthetic issue than a human health or wildlife problem, marine biologists are concerned it could alter food webs in rivers". More information.
3. Should DFO be Promoting the Aquaculture Industry? Questions are being raised about whether it is appropriate for DFO to be so heavily involved in promoting aquaculture given that its principle mandate is for the conservation and protection of wild fish stocks. Commenting on the Cohen inquiry, Stan Proboszcz, fisheries biologist with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, said the strategy shows the sophisticated methods DFO uses to promote open net cage salmon farming. "Through the inquiry we've seen that DFO's mandate is to promote public confidence in the salmon aquaculture industry, despite science that shows it can be a huge risk to wild fish," he said. More. A communications plan presented at the Cohen Commission also shows that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is focused more on promoting fish farming than on its mandate of protecting Canada's waters. Canada's Green Party suggests that DFO should back off and leave the PR to the aquaculture industry. More.
4. Farmed Salmon In NB Rivers On September 16, 2011 CBC News reported that "Some farmed salmon from the Bay of Fundy are turning up in rivers in New Brunswick and Maine, concerning both conservation groups and the industry. It's not clear from which salmon operations they came." It also notes that a Federal Government report released just a week before "paints a dire future for wild stock in the Bay of Fundy". More information.
5. Does Fish Poop Flush Well? An article in the Telegraph Journal raises concerns about the accumulation of fish feces and other wastes and their effects on near shore marine communities. It notes that a study in the L'Etang Estuary by DFO scientists found that "At the peak of their production cycle, fish farms in the estuary released almost 50 times more waste than the sewage plant servicing a community of 1,200 and more waste than the runoff from land, a pulp mill and herring processing plant in the area. The scientists concluded that in intensively farmed bays in New Brunswick "significant changes to the ecosystem have occurred" as a result of waste releases from salmon farms." The article concludes that " Hard as the aquaculture industry may wish, the tides don't carry away hundreds of tonnes of fish waste". More.
6. COSEWIC Confirms Bay of Fundy Salmon Endangered In early September the Committee on Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) released its Final Assessment Report on Canada's Atlantic Salmon. The report is now in the hands of the Minister of the Environment who has 90 days in which to decide how to proceed. According to the report both the Inner and Outer Bay of Fundy Populations are classified as endangered. More information. PDF copy of Assessment Report.
7. Growing Concern over Use Of More Pesticides in Aquaculture An article in the September 14, 2011 Globe and Mail outlines growing alarm over the use of a wider variety of toxic pesticides to control sealice in salmon farms. It reports that the Deputy Minister of Fisheries stated in a September 2010 memo that in New Brunswick "salmon farmers have noted growing levels of sea lice tolerance to the in-feed lice control drug Slice" and that as a result "Farmers have been seeking access to other treatment products including hydrogen peroxide, Salmosan, AlphaMax and Calicide." Full article.
8. Growing Opposition to Expansion of Aquaculture in NS There is growing groundswell of opposition to plans by Cooke Aquaculture of New Brunswick to create a major salmon farm right in the middle of productive lobster grounds and a prime tourism area in Saint Mary's Bay, NS. A recent article in the Maine Publication "Working Waterfront" details the appeal launched against the provincial government decision to approve the project. The article notes that: "the St. Mary’s Bay Coastal Alliance and the Canadian environmental group Ecojustice are appealing [the] decision, saying the Minister overstepped his authority when he granted approval for the farms. The national government has the final say on ocean policy, they argue, not the provinces. Even if the court rules that [the Minister] was within his rights to make the decision, the coalition contends he failed to follow due process and consider all evidence. More details.
9. Report on Aquaculture impacts on Wild Salmon The report of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River is has been released. This will undoubtedly be of great interest to Fundy residents as it examines the relationship between salmon farms and wild salmon populations, particularly in relation to disease and parasite spread and the use/abuse of toxic chemicals.The federal commission of inquiry was ordered after a devastating collapse of stocks two years ago and has spent months listening to testimony on a range of issues, from the inner workings of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the aboriginal fishing industry. More information on inquiry. CTV Report.
10. Tracking Salmon in the Bay of Fundy The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) has been a partner in an inner Bay of Fundy tracking program that released adult Atlantic salmon. The research goal is to discover how many return to their river of origin. There is both a written article and a Video clip on the release of the fish and an interview with Jonathan Carr of the ASF.
11. Public Forums on Genetically Modified Atlantic Salmon Canada and the U.S. could soon approve a genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon - the first-ever GM food animal in the world. The small U.S. company AquaBounty wants to produce GM salmon eggs in PEI, to grow-out in Panama and sell to U.S. consumers. What are the risks for wild Atlantic salmon? What's happening in Canada? How are we at the centre of this controversy? A series of Public Forums are beijg held in Charlottetown, PEI (October 24); Fredericton, NB (October 25); Halifax, NS (October 26); and St. John's, NL (October 27). AquaBounty does not yet have permission from Environment Canada to produce GM salmon eggs in PEI but the department refuses to say if it is currently assessing a request from the company. Health Canada also refuses to say if AquaBounty has asked to have the GM salmon approved for human consumption in Canada. There are no public consultations. Any risk of GM Atlantic salmon escaping into the wild is unacceptable, especially when Atlantic salmon are already in danger of disappearing. Join us to discuss these and other important questions - Come out to hear who is making the decisions, what is happening in the U.S. and Canada, and how Atlantic Canada is at the center of the global controversy over GM fish. more information.
12. Framework for Network of Marine Protected Areas in Canada The National Framework for Canada's Network of MPAs was approved in principle on 1 September by the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers. The document provides strategic direction for the design of a national network of MPAs, including the vision and goals; design properties; eligibility criteria for inclusion in the network; network governance structure; and guidance for promoting national consistency in bioregional network planning .
13. Natural Resources Strategy for Nova Scotia A 10 year strategy document entitled "The Path We Share: A Natural Resources Strategy for Nova Scotia, 2011-2020" focuses specifically on biodiversity, forests, minerals and parks. It identifies 23 goals and the strategic actions to achieve them. A companion document entitled 'From Strategy to Action' outlines 32 early actions to be completed over the next two years .
14. Climate Adaptation Newsletter Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions has recently published newsletters for projects in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. ACAS is a three-year federal-provincial initiative that involves collaboration between Natural Resources Canada, the four Atlantic Provinces and their partners to improve climate change adaptation decision-making. NB Newsletter. NS Newsletter. | |
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