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Rockweed Fishes Study Supported by the NB Wildlife Trust Fund
The NB Wildlife Trust Fund is supporting the Huntsman’s Atlantic Reference Centre (ARC) to study the impact of rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) harvesting on resident fishes. The abundance of rockweed in Passamaquoddy Bay has stimulated a managed harvest by Acadia Seaplants Ltd. of Dartmouth, NS. The fish community living in the dense stands of rockweed is well known, however, the short and long term impacts of rockweed harvesting on this community are unknown. The ARC’s Lou Van Guelpen is examining rockweed fish communities in an experimental site before and after rockweed harvesting and in a control (non-harvest) site, both in the intertidal zone of Hardwood Island in Passamaquoddy Bay. Dr. Raśl Ugarte of Acadia Seaplants is carefully coordinating harvesting in the experimental site to enable replicated fish sampling before and after harvest. Pre-harvest and post-harvest sampling for year 1 have been completed. The NB Wildlife Trust Fund will be approached in each of the next two years for funding to continue this study, enabling longer-term assessment of harvest impact in a time frame similar to the commercial inter-harvest duration.
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