A project is underway in Bonne Bay to assess the health of the local ecosystem by monitoring invasive green crab populations and having a look at eelgrass beds.
Green crab are having a devastating impact on the local marine ecosystem, out competing most other species.
Plastics and Marine Conservation Coordinator with the Atlantic Healthy Oceans Initiative in Norris Point, Sydney Sullivan says they’re also looking at eelgrass beds which serve an important role.
AHOI staff member Aaron deploying a green crab trap in Bonne Bay.
She says eelgrass beds serve as a nursery for juvenile fish and acts as a type of “carbon sink” storing carbon in the ocean in the sediment and in the grass itself.
She says eelgrass beds are threatened by damage caused by development, coastal erosion, climate change and the introduction of invasive species like the green crab.
The Healthy Oceans initiative is using a number of methods to collect data in the region including underwater drones.
