[NatureNS] Shellfish upheaval

From: "John and Nhung" <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2018 05:36:26 -0400
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In upper Saint Mary's Bay, a mid-December heavy blow in 2016, combined =
with very low temperatures, was followed by a high mortality of =
slow-moving bottom organisms, like crabs, starfish, and the like.  The =
water there is shallow, with extensive tidal flats.   Minus fifteen down =
here in God's country is rare, and when such temperatures happen, it's =
normally in late January and early February and the air is usually =
still. =20

Yup, if I'd been a starfish under such conditions, I might not be around =
to report.

It has been a long time since I checked out those flats, but jackknife =
clams (Ensis) and quahogs (Mercenaria) were present there back in the =
'70's:  the only location I know of for quahogs in Nova Scotia, outside =
of Northumberland Strait.  Wonder if they survived that blow =E2=80=A6

-----Original Message-----
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca =
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Ken McKenna
Sent: December 1, 2018 9:08 PM
To: NatureNS
Subject: [NatureNS] Shellfish upheaval

Hi all
The strong  nor=E2=80=99easter a few days ago had a significant impact =
in shellfish near Caribou-Munroes I Provincial Park in Pictou Co. On a =
hike along the beach this morning with Fred MacKenzie , we were =
surprised by the number of gulls and eagles along the beach. As we =
walked along, the reason they were there became obvious as several =
thousand bar clams had washed up on the beach. Also on the beach were =
3-4 dozen lobsters, a few mussels and scallops. Between ourselves and =
another beach hiker, most of the lobsters that we saw still alive were =
returned to the water but one would have needed baskets to gather the =
bar clams. I had no idea so many clams had been living in the waters off =
the island. Many age classes were in the mix. The clams were all along =
the north and east beaches.=20

The waves during the storm must have completely covered  a good section =
of the bar
connecting the mainland section of the park to Munroes I. The marram =
grass was matted down. On the north side there was quite a bit of =
erosion of the bank and many trees must have washed away.  Lots of power =
to this storm. Big Island Causeway further east fared worse with a large =
section of the causeway breached. There was a steady stream of trucks =
trying to restore the causeway road the last couple days.=20

Cheers
Ken=20
=20

Sent from my iPad
Ken McKenna
Stellarton=20
NS=20

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<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">In upper Saint =
Mary's Bay, a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> =
mid-December heavy blow in 2016, combined</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">with</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">very low temperatures, was =
followed by a high mortality of slow-moving bottom organisms, like =
crabs, starfish, and the like.&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> =
<FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">T</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">he water</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">there</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">is shallow, with extensive tidal =
flats.&nbsp;&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">Minus fifteen down here in</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">G</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">od</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">'</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">s country is rare, and when such =
temperatu</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">r</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">es happen,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">it's normally in late January and early =
Febr</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">u</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">ary and</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">the air is usually sti</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">ll</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">.&nbsp;</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"> </SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">Yup, if I'd =
been a starfish under such conditions, I might not be around to =
report.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">It has been a =
long time since I checked out those flats, but jackknife clams =
(</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><I><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">Ensis</FONT></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">) and quahogs (</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><I><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">Mercenaria</FONT></I></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">) were present there</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri"> back in the =
'70's</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"><FONT FACE=3D"Calibri">:&nbsp; =
the only location I know of for</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">quahogs in</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Calibri">Nova Scotia, outside of Northumberland Strait.&nbsp; =
Wonder if they survived that blow =E2=80=A6</FONT></SPAN><SPAN =
LANG=3D"en-ca"></SPAN></P>

<P DIR=3DLTR><SPAN LANG=3D"en-ca"></SPAN><SPAN LANG=3D"en-us"><FONT =
FA