Bofep

The Bay of Fundy linking New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is a 270 kilometre northern extension of the productive Gulf of Maine coastal ecosystem. The Bay's 1300 kilometres of coastline ranges from rugged, rocky headlands flanking its mouth to the broad mudflats and salt marshes of its inner reaches. It has long been of great economic, ecological and scientific importance, largely because of its world renowned tides that can exceed 16 metres in height. Engineers have dreamed of harnessing these tidal flows for generating electricity. Scientists too have been interested in the ecological relationships between the Bay's surging waters and its abundant living resources. The tidal turbulence stirs dissolved nutrients into the sunlit surface waters where these natural fertilisers stimulate the production of plant and animal plankton These in turn support the large populations of fish, seabirds and marine mammals that are the mainstay of the region's important fisheries as well as its rapidly expanding ecotourism industry. The restless circulation also stirs up fine sediments of the upper Bay and moulds them into the productive salt marshes and mudflats that are critical habitats for waterfowl and millions of migrating shorebirds. The rapid tidal flushing also makes Fundy's coastal embayments attractive sites for the aquaculture of a wide range of marine species. The Bay of Fundy is unquestionably a dynamic, highly productive and ecologically diverse coastal ecosystem that is...