SAINT JOHN HARBOUR MONITORING

Saint John Harbour Environmental Monitoring

ACAP Saint John has historically sampled water quality across Saint John as well as fish communities in Marsh Creek and Courtenay Bay. In 2018 we expanded this work as part of the Coastal Environment Baseline Program, a Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiative focused on developing environmental baselines for some of the busiest ports in Canada (including Port Saint John). As part of this program, we monitored water quality at 22 sites within the Saint John Harbour and surrounding waterways. We also conducted sediment sampling (for contaminant analysis) at 13 sites and biotic community (fish and crustaceans) monitoring at 8 sites. This program ran from September 2018 to October 2021, and monitoring is continuing for the 2022 field season.

Water quality was measured bi-weekly or monthly between May and October. The parameters measured include temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, turbidity, fecal coliforms, phosphates, and ammonia. There was generally good water quality at most Harbour sites, except for certain sites, especially those in Marsh Creek and Little River. Nutrients (phosphates and ammonia) were elevated at many sites, but the most frequent water quality issue was high levels of E. coli (a common fecal bacterium).

Sediment sampling was conducted at least three times per year, and samples were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are a group of contaminants that are released into the environment from the incomplete combustion of wood, coal, and fossils fuels. Sources of PAHs include car exhaust, industrial emissions, marine traffic, and residential emissions, and they are also used in products like pesticides, asphalt, and creosote. PAHs are toxic to aquatic life above certain levels. PAHs were highest in Marsh Creek (MCDS) and Spar Cove (SC); see the map below with the average PAH levels from 2018 to 2021.

Fishing was first conducted in October 2018 and subsequently was conducted monthly from May to October 2019 – 2021, with continued monitoring in 2022. We collect fish using both seine nets and fyke nets, which target fishes of different sizes to provide a more comprehensive snapshot of nearshore fish communities. Between 2018 and 2021, a total of 35,213 fish and invertebrates were caught, representing 34 species. The most common species caught were Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia; 14,640 individuals, 41.6% of the total catch) and sand shrimp (Crangon septemspinosa; 14,224 individuals, 40.4% of the total catch). Some of the most common species we caught are shown below!

Spar Cove (SC) had the greatest total catch (11,599 individuals), with the majority of these individuals being Atlantic silverside, while Little River (LR) had the lowest total catch with 328 individuals. The greatest diversity of species was measured at Inner Harbour (IH), Tin Can Beach (TCB), Marsh Creek (MC2) and Little River. The other sites were dominated by Atlantic silverside or sand shrimp.

We caught individuals from over 30 species, check out some of our favourites below!

Click here to read about the findings of previous research and monitoring conducted in the Saint John Harbour from 2011 - 2016 (UNB/Saint John Harbour Environmental Monitoring Partnership).