Monitoring results from select estuaries in the four Atlantic provinces

The purpose of this project was to create an assessment and reporting methodology for estuary health in Atlantic Canada. Project partners were based in the Outer Bay of Fundy, Inner Bay of Fundy, southern shore of Nova Scotia, northwestern Northumberland Strait, eastern Northumberland Strait and western Newfoundland, addressing estuary health in a uniform manner throughout the Atlantic region. The water quality data collected in the estuaries included nitrates and chlorophyll a. Sediments were analyzed for contaminants including pesticides; and a series of samples were taken and analyzed for fecal coliform bacteria. Secchi depths were measured at all monitoring sites and a depth profile of dissolved oxygen and salinity was completed each season to establish water quality stratification.