Restoring Placentia Bay Coastal Ecosystem

The coastal waters of Placentia Bay, Newfoundland Canada, provide habitats for many marine plants, fish, mammals, and birds and once supported vibrant commercial fisheries including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), snow crab... [ view full abstract ]

The coastal waters of Placentia Bay, Newfoundland Canada, provide habitats for many marine plants, fish, mammals, and birds and once supported vibrant commercial fisheries including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and American lobster (Homarus americanus).   Substantial marine transportation, coastal development, and oil and gas activities (as Placentia Bay is now the largest oil handling port in Canada) have generated stressors for Placentia Bay (PB) coastal ecosystem.  One stressor, the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas), was first observed at one site in August 2007 and has since colonized the entire bay.  Green crab has been associated with significant losses of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds and subsequent decline in juvenile fish abundance and biomass at numerous locations in the bay.  Under the Ocean Protection Plan, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has released a Coastal Restoration Fund and Placentia Bay has been identified as one priorities areas. In this talk, I will present a 5-year (2017-2022) collaborative initiative to rehabilitate selected coastal areas in Placentia Bay.  Restoration activities include restoration of eelgrass beds, mitigation of barrier to fish migration in PB watershed, mitigation of green crab, and deployment of artificial reefs