Guest Posters

Moon Snail
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Our Sea Rovers photo contest winner loves a good dive!

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Categories: Guest Posters | Photo Contest

Congratulations to Josh Cummings, for submitting the photo Brian Skerry chose as the winner of this month’s contest - this exquisite image of a moon snail navigating the sandy bottom of Folly Cove in Rockport, MA. We asked Josh to tell us more about his passion for diving in New England. Read on to hear about Josh’s New England Ocean Odyssey.

 

My first experiences underwater date back to the early 1980’s while I was on a family vacation. Being only eight years old, I was way too young to dive, but all it took was one snorkeling trip and I was hooked. What I saw was a whole new world; colorful tropical fish in crystal clear warm water swimming amongst vibrant canyon like coral reefs. My little brother and I explored for hours, watching animals such as parrot fish munching on coral, angelfish chasing each other around and moray eels curiously staring us down.

As soon as we got home from that trip, my parents took us down to the local dive shop where I got my first mask and snorkel set; this was the beginning of my love for diving.  After a wait that seemed eternal, my little brother and I signed up for a scuba diving course when he was twelve and I was thirteen:  just old enough. 

We grew up in New Hampshire, close to the Vermont border, where there were no tropical fish or coral reefs to be found, but we were still amazed by what we could find beneath the surface. In those ponds and lakes we were free, able to move around three-dimensionally through the water and swim amongst the trout, bass, and pumpkinseed; still holding out hope that one of Captain Kidd’s ships ended up in a New Hampshire pond.

I continued snorkeling and diving in the nearby ponds and lakes until college, when diving really became an obsession. I took a job at the local dive shop, Underwater Sports of NH, learning everything I could about the sport, and went diving as much as I could.  I dreamt of diving in far-off exotic lands, but being a broke college student kept me in New England. There were still many adventures to be had – off beaches, on shipwrecks, under the ice, in caves and even quarries. 

 

Herring and beer bottle

Back then, I began to notice the destructive influence people have had on our marine environment. I saw the destruction caused by draggers, the deaths caused by carelessly discarded or lost fishing gear, centuries-old and modern trash, as well as the devastating effects of invasive species, such as zebra mussels. 

I noticed that when I recounted my stories to non-divers they were surprised by two things: 1) That there is anything to see in New England waters; and 2) That activities, like carelessly conducted fishing and boating or forgetting that plastic cup on the beach, had long-term consequences. 

I did what I thought I could to help the situation. I participated in underwater clean ups and reminded customers to properly clean their equipment and boats when traveling between water bodies. These were little things that helped, but I knew they were only temporary and small solutions – a Band-Aid. The real solution lies in changing people’s attitudes and behaviors. 

I left the dive shop after I graduated and started my career in the environmental field, but I kept on diving. As soon as I could, I bought a high quality underwater camera system so I could finally share with family and friends what I saw in those murky ponds and chilly surf. As I practiced and slowly got better, I saw how many people were amazed by the colors, beauty, and sheer volume of life in our New England waters. 

I soon realized that the best way to convey the natural beauty of the life in our waters, as well as the damage being done, was through photographs. I wanted to show the destruction, while also showing what is there to protect. 

While I have yet to publish any of my photographs commercially, I am proud to have provided many of my photographs to organizations and agencies aimed at protecting our environment such as CLF’s New England Ocean Odyssey, the U.S. EPA and the USACE.  Over the past year I have been able to document some incredible marine life behaviors: Atlantic squid mating and laying their eggs, and herring migrating through a rushing herring run. Small wonders happening right here in our backyards. 

People often ask, “Where is your favorite place to dive?” It’s a hard question to answer. In my 25years underwater, I have been fortunate enough to dive all over the world (Caribbean, Mexico, California, Thailand, and Palau) with each providing an incredibly different and new experience, but I will always love the excitement and adventure that our New England waters offer. This is my personal New England Ocean Odyssey.

Josh

Josh Cummings is an Environmental Scientist for Jacobs Engineering at the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site. He has a degree in Industrial Chemistry and has been a certified diver since 1987 with certifications through PADI, TDI and IANTD. 

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Great Bay, New Hampshire. Photo by Cynthia Irwin
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The Great Bay Estuary – A Natural Treasure in Need of Protection

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Categories: Guest Posters

Nestled between New Hampshire and Maine, the Great Bay estuary is one of New England’s most remarkable natural resources. It lies at the confluence of tidally driven seawater from the Gulf of Maine and freshwater from seven major river systems – the Salmon Falls, Cocheco, Bellamy, Oyster, Lamprey, Squamscott, and Winnicut. Great Bay’s connection to the Gulf of Maine substantially influences the dynamics of the estuary, resulting in some of the strongest tidal currents in North America, as seawater must travel 12 miles inland through the Piscataqua River and Little Bay before reaching Great Bay.

This geographic configuration makes Great Bay one of the nation’s most recessed estuaries and it is often referred to as New Hampshire’s “hidden coast.” The watershed extends more than 1,000 square miles reaching many miles north of Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s only port. With over twenty percent of the watershed in the state of Maine, the estuary has defined the cultural history of the region since the first permanent settlements were established in 1620’s. 

For centuries, Great Bay has supported human activities as people were drawn to its abundant resources. Today, the estuary provides critically important habitat for a wide variety of fish, birds and other wildlife and remarkable recreational opportunities that contribute enormously to the coastal heritage of New Hampshire’s Seacoast region and southernmost Maine.

In light of these extraordinary values, Great Bay has been designated an estuary of national significance by both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). EPA’s Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) and NOAA’s Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) have developed comprehensive management plans that have resulted in research, education and land conservation initiatives designed to address the critical issues facing the estuary. Great Bay is also home to the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

The estuary provides important fish habitat and is designated Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) by the National Marine Fisheries Service for numerous fish species in various life stages including Atlantic cod, haddock, pollock, yellowtail flounder, Atlantic mackerel and bluefish. Other species, such as a variety of herring, are forage fish that support the Gulf’s commercial fisheries by serving as an important building block in the marine food chain. Still other species, such as striped bass and bluefish, are important recreational fisheries.

Regrettably, the health of the estuary is in jeopardy. Similar to the multiple stressors affecting the Gulf of Maine – primarily related to population growth and low‐density sprawl – there is concern among scientists that Great Bay is approaching a tipping point which, once crossed, will make its recovery incredibly challenging and costly.

As the Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper my role is serving as the “eyes and ears” of the estuary, advancing needed policies and innovative solutions, and building a public voice to protect Great Bay for future generations. There is much work to be done.

The most recent State of the Estuaries report (PREP, 2013) documents a troubling trend – that with only three of fourteen pressure and condition indicators moving in a positive direction, the health of the estuary is in jeopardy due to increases in nutrients pollution. Most notably, impervious surfaces are increasing at six times the rate of population growth, making it that much more difficult to reduce nitrogen pollution.

 Eelgrass, the cornerstone of the estuary’s ecosystem, has suffered resulting in severe declines in the Piscataqua River and Little Bay. The overall distribution of eelgrass has decreased by more than a third since 1996 and biomass loss has been even more dramatic, declining by over two-thirds during the same timeframe. These habitat changes have negatively impacted local fish species. You can read about some of these changes as observed by a local scuba diver here. Due to disease, there also has been a dramatic decrease in oyster populations with a ninety percent decline since 1993.  Recent restoration efforts are aimed at slowly building back populations.

Despite the changes, one constant remains – Great Bay is a national treasure. I encourage you to visit the region and discover Great Bay’s wonders.

For more information about the Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper and my work to protect the Great Bay estuary, visit: http://www.clf.org/great-bay-waterkeeper/. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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Granite schooners, photo by Deborah Marx
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Maritime Heritage at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

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Categories: Guest Posters

Located at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary sits astride 400-year old shipping routes and fishing grounds for New England’s oldest ports.  Centuries of marine calamites have made the sanctuary’s seafloor an underwater museum.  Archaeological research has only begun to reveal these stories of the past. Beginning in 2000, sanctuary researchers took the first steps to locate and identify the historic shipwrecks in the sanctuary waters. Since then, the sanctuary has partnered with the Northeast Underwater Research Technology and Education Center (NURTEC) at the University of Connecticut to bring advanced remote sensing technologies to the sanctuary for shipwreck exploration.

When I joined the sanctuary research team in 2002, I was immediately impressed with the possibilities the sanctuary offered for archaeological research. Unlike other Federal waters, historic sanctuary shipwrecks are protected by regulations that prohibit their damage or disturbance (unfortunately fishing activities are exempted from these regulations, a significant gap in the sanctuary’s resource protection abilities). The sanctuary’s largely unexplored location and its relatively deep waters meant that artifacts have remained on sites ready to shed light on our ancestor’s maritime activities. Thus, archaeological discovery in the sanctuary is a thrilling process, from the first hints that side scan sonar has revealed a new shipwreck to the first observation of that site, either by SCUBA diving or remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

Lamartine 1 courtesy of NOAA_SBNMS_and_NURTEC_UConn

Anemones and a sea star living on Lamartine’s granite cargo. Note the manhole bored through the granite slab’s center for access to the underlying sewer basin. Courtesy of NOAA SBNMS and NURTEC UConn

 

Recent research on a sunken schooner, named Lamartine, highlighted the interesting investigative aspects of sanctuary maritime heritage research. Located in 2004 while searching for another shipwreck, archaeologists used NURTEC’s ROV to image the site; a pile of intricately shaped flat granite slabs lying on top of a wooden hull. Library research determined that the granite slabs were sewer catch basin covers used in the construction of street corners. Nearly 7 years of archival research failed to turn up any likely candidates for the shipwreck until a volunteer historian found the Lamartine’s story. A visit to the University of Maine’s library uncovered the granite quarry’s ledger that supplied Lamartine’s cargo confirming the shipwreck’s identity. During a May 1893 storm off Cape Ann, that cargo shifted capsizing the schooner and taking the life of one sailor. Next time you are walking the old streets of Boston or New York, look down and you might see one of these granite basin covers still in place over 100 years after its installation.

In juxtaposition to the dramatic stories of destruction encapsulated in Stellwagen Bank sanctuary shipwrecks, I am wowed by the vibrant marine life that now inhabits these oases of biodiversity.  Shipwreck structure provides ideal homes for many of New England’s undersea inhabitants. To so many, New England’s waters are cold, dark places, seemingly impenetrable from the beach.  The archaeological fieldwork I’ve conducted has revealed dozens of varieties of colorful organisms that would amaze people if they saw them living in their native habitat.

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North Star Prop
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Shipwrecked on Stellwagen

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Categories: Guest Posters

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, some of the scientists and experts there are introducing us to the fascinating research and activities they are involved with. Heather Knowles is the co-founder of Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions, Inc. Heather is a member of the Explorer’s Club, the Boston Sea Rovers, and is currently the vice-chairperson of the Sanctuary Advisory Council for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Heather is also a technical diving instructor, and has had the privilege of exploring some of the world’s notable shipwrecks. – Ed.

 

How many shipwrecks are there in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary? Nobody knows for sure, but there enough to keep a diver like me coming back time and again. Like much of the Gulf of Maine, Stellwagen Bank is subject to harsh weather and offers little protection from storms. Over time, countless fishing, shipping, and recreational vessels have been put at risk for shipwreck. Some shipwrecks in the sanctuary are quite famous, such as the SS Portland, lost with all hands – almost 200 lives – in a devastating 1898 blizzard. Other shipwrecks are not as well known, but have great historical significance, or are more contemporary, and represent important social, economic, and cultural aspects of New England life – like fishing vessels. Even today such losses continue.

 

The hull of the Patriot rests beneath 100 feet of water. The Patriot was a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Maine until its tragic sinking in 2009. Photo by Heather Knowles.

 

People often ask me what it’s like to dive in the sanctuary. Not surprisingly, many local divers have never been there. Stellwagen is an offshore location, with dynamic conditions, rapidly changing weather, and a remoteness that requires a greater degree of effort to get to. Parts of the sanctuary are subject to very strong currents, and trips must be planned to coincide with tidal slack water. Even with careful planning, the weather may not cooperate—often times a 30-mile fetch of west or south wind means the end of any big plans offshore.

 

A lobster and longhorn sculpin swim on the shipwrecked Paul Palmer. Photo by Heather Knowles.

 

I usually tell people that diving at Stellwagen is unlike diving inshore—in the accessible coastal areas most typically visited by divers. There’s an amazing abundance and diversity of marine life that you don’t see in the coastal waters. For example, sometimes there are so many longhorn sculpin blanketing the bottom that you need to look before putting your hand down to avoid their sharp spines. There are ocean pout, wolffish, sponges and anemones, lobster, cod, and even an occasional school of tuna fish—all of which can be seen on a “typical” dive. The bright sand bottom affords good visibility with lots of ambient light.

Although the marine life is spectacular, we’re often heading to the sanctuary to dive shipwrecks.  Shipwrecks are time capsules at the mercy of the ocean environment. Unfortunately, this means they will ultimately be consumed – if not completely, then so much so that the wreck might eventually be unrecognizable. One such wreck that fascinates me is the potential Pentagoet, a steam freighter lost with all hands in the same 1898 storm as the SS Portland. This wreck is almost completely buried in the sand, resting in 170 feet of water. We often get only one opportunity to visit this wreck each year – it’s a long ride out there, and the current is ferocious with a short, unstable slow water period—so, why do we go? The answer is simple – because it’s exciting, interesting, and one day we might observe and document a clue that explains everything about the ship and its demise.

Our dive this year on the potential Pentagoet is a great example of why progress on shipwreck research is often painstakingly slow. We were out on the wreck, almost 30 miles from Salem, the fog was so thick that visibility was at most a few hundred feet, and the current was ripping. Other divers at the wreck were using “scooters” (dive propulsion vehicles) to help get down, but they were still having trouble. Returning divers said the current was just as strong on the bottom.

Based on these reports, I decided to make things easier and leave my camera behind, giving up my only chance this year to get photos of the site. No matter how much I wanted to get great pictures, it was more important that I bring myself back! My dive buddy and I made the dive, and found that conditions had improved by the time we got in the water. The visibility was at least 50 feet and we didn’t even need a dive light at the bottom. We covered a large area on our scooters, making new observations—and having a lot of fun too. I suppose there’s always next year for another chance at taking photos.

In some ways, diving in the sanctuary paradoxical. There is so much to see, yet the opportunity to see it is so limited. I think this is what makes it special. The vast and deep sanctuary is only beginning to be characterized from an archaeological standpoint. In some ways, Stellwagen Bank is a frontier that draws scientists, explorers, and adventurers from all disciplines. Scuba divers are no exception, as the opportunity for discovery and exploration combined with the thrill of the underwater experience is great. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the sanctuary’s designation, it’s important that we do what we can to protect this resource, and not forget that we should take the time to enjoy all that it has to offer as well.

Top photo: The prop of the fishing vessel North Star is covered in colorful sea life. Photo by Heather Knowles of Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions.

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Humpback Whales at Stellwagen Bank
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Flying Below the Radar: Stellwagen’s Stealthy Whales

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Categories: Creature Features | Events/Calendar | Guest Posters

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, some of the scientists and experts there are introducing us to the fascinating research and activities they are involved with. David Wiley, the Sanctuary’s Research Coordinator, talks about one of the most interesting – but difficult to study – residents of Stellwagen Bank. – Ed.

Is there such a thing as an animal that is 55 feet long, weighs 50 tons and is almost invisible? If such a creature did exist, how would you study it? That animal does exist and it’s called a humpback whale, one of the most famous citizens of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. As the sanctuary research coordinator, one of my jobs is to figure out how to study these invisible giants that spend 90% of their time underwater and out of sight. When I first began studying humpback and other large whales more than 20 years ago, we took pictures of them at the surface, wrote down the timing of their breaths, recorded the other animals they were with, and dreamed of being able to follow them into the depths of the ocean and their lives.

Today, those dreams have become reality, made possible by two technological innovations: DTAGs (Digital Acoustic Recording Tags) and National Geographic Crittercams. The DTAG is a synchronous motion, acoustic recording tag invented by our friend Mark Johnson when he was at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. DTAGs are small computers attached to the whales via suction-cups that hold onto the animals for about 24 hours (see above photo). They collect a suite of data including body pitch, roll, heading, and depth, while recording sounds that the whale makes and hears. To make use of the DTAG, we have a team of 14 scientists working on the project.

 

A 3D trackplot map shows a humpback whale using bubbles to corral fish. Data was recorded by a DTAG placed on the animal’s back. Credit: SBNMS and UNH Advanced Data Visualization Laboratory.

 

For the past 9 summers, these scientists have journeyed to the sanctuary to unlock the secrets of humpback whale behavior. Each scientist has a particular team function. For example, Colin Ware, who is the head of the University of New Hampshire’s Advanced Data Visualization Laboratory, takes the DTAG data and turns it into amazing 3D maps of the whale’s behavior and movements (see image above), Elliot Hazen, of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center uses SIMRAD Echosounders to map schools of sand lance prey, and Allison Stimpert, a National Research Council post-doc, examines how the whales use sound. To date, our team has published 10 research papers in scientific journals unveiling humpback life in and around the sanctuary.

In 2011, we teamed up with the Remote Imaging Program at National Geographic to get an entirely different view of humpback life. This effort uses a Crittercam. The miniature camera also attaches to a whale’s back with a suction-cup and provides an animal-based video observation of the whale’s behavior and surroundings. The Crittercam’s wide angle lens often captures images of numerous other animals, letting us watch multiple whales at the same time.

These two technologies have allowed us to begin to see our invisible whales for the first time. We have learned how they blow bubbles to capture fast moving fish and how they feed along the seabed where the whales are vulnerable to commercial fishing gear. Sharing our unique views with fisherman and shippers has helped us come to a common understanding of how whales behave and, in some cases, how they can be protected.

Top photo: A Stellwagen Bank sanctuary humpback whale sports a DTAG and Crittercam.
Credit: SBNMS file photo by Ari Friedlaender. Photo taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit # 14245.

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