State of the Bay: 2010

Since 2004 MERI’s Coastal Monitoring Program has produced a set of data that is beginning to define the Blue Hill Bay ecosystem. With eight years of research to interpret, Dr. Shaw will be presenting the finings at the Blue Hill Bay Symposium in Blue Hill Town Hall on November 18th. and we will deliver the first State of Blue Hill Bay Report early next year.

Every year, May through October, Monitoring Coordinator Meggan Dwyer takes MERI’s research vessel RV Pinniped 11 to collect water samples from 45 designated sites in Blue Hill Bay and on the surrounding coast. The program monitors for nutrient loads, phytoplankton, the presence of invasive species and bacteria, ocean acidity and water temperature. Since 2010, under a NOAA authorization permit, MERI also monitors the haul out sites of Blue Hill Bay gray and harbor seals.

Like other coastal ecosystems, Blue Hill Bay is challenged by environmental threats that need our attention. In our coastal watershed, there are 23 boatyards, 7 landfills, 3 wastewater treatment plants and 85 overboard discharges that may release toxic and/or sewage pollution. Over 2000 acres of bordering agricultural lands produce potential inputs such as high levels of nitrates from fertilizer or toxic pesticide runoff. We have found hundreds of toxic chemicals in tissues of our harbor seals, and our Blue Hill Bay fish trawl survey detected the same toxic chemicals in seven species of commercially important marine fish -- hake, herring, flounder, plaice, mackerel -- raising concerns about human consumption of these fish. Biological threats also necessitate vigilant monitoring. Invasive species such as tunicates (“sea squirts”) continue to arrive with the ability to smother wild and commercial shellfish beds. Harmful algal blooms or “red tide” can concentrate in shellfish causing paralytic shellfish poisoning in shellfish consumers, while bacteria spikes at public beaches can make people seriously ill, especially children. Through careful monitoring and reporting, MERI enables the Blue Hill community to respond to these and other potential threats to the environment and human health.

For more details follow the link to: Blue Hill Bay Coastal Monitoring Program -Summary 2010 field session.

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