Saint John’s Energy Hub Hype

It’s been fascinating watching the fever building in Saint John around “The Great Energy Hub”. Certainly everyone is doing a great job in building the hype that seems to be necessary to move these developments forward.

The Telegraph Journal is the face of this phenomenon and one must admit that they are doing a thorough and professional job of building a fever pitch. All of the shills are out and at it as well; politicians, academics, recycled political hacks, even the likes of Patrick Moore, the erstwhile born-again eco-business evangelist, is in town beating the drums. Some have even tried to alter our educational system to provide themselves with the training grounds for their “workers” while failing forestry interests beat the streets seeking bail-outs similar to those provided to the handful of fishing companies that tried to control our ocean wealth. While they failed, they also destroyed one of the world’s greatest resources the Atlantic Cod. Others are flogging “Atlantica”, a deep integration conduit for goods flowing through our turf to feed the insatiable appetite of our neighbours to the south. And we get to carry the bucket!

Unfortunately, few seem to be concerned about the cumulative impacts of all these planned developments on the adjacent and valuable Bay of Fundy and the fundamentally important resources that occur there. Ah well, when you are “raping mother” why worry about a few scars?

Underlying all of this are the same concerns that existed 2o-odd years ago with construction of the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, Coleson Cove, and before that even a 1970’s attempt to establish an LNG terminal where the Coleson Cove Generating Station now sits and a new port in Musquash Harbour where the idea was to divert the St. John River so that it would flush out the mud! No kidding! The Irving interests lost those particular battles to the then strong Lorneville fishermens’ lobby, but that failure was followed shortly by the expansion of the official harbour limits down to Musquash, setting the stage for todays massive developments.

The all powerful National Harbours Board has since been able to smooth the way for progressive developments that are now culminating in a second oil refinery, an LNG terminal, an associated chemical plant, and probably cogeneration plants as well. Meanwhile, up the coast, accelerated potash development will see additional brine dumps and associated port-side pollution while the refurbished Nuclear Plant and a potential second version will add their own unique concerns.

And the concerns are real. They include:

1. Ecological Impacts: Questions about the ecological impacts resulting from the massive amounts of water that will be extracted from the Bay of Fundy for the various industrial plants along the coast. Some of us believe that observable impacts have already occurred with the reduction of plankton levels and associated losses of forage and commercial fish species. Virtually nothing survives the rapid changes in pressure and temperature that occur when high volumes of water containing this preciously living cargo, pass through these systems.

2. Air and Water Emissions: Increased airborne emissions will continue to impact the health of New Brunswick residents as well as our neighbours in Nova Scotia who receive much of the air-borne carcinogens and toxic chemicals that we release daily along our shores. Should anyone doubt the toxic clouds that we pass through daily, they should check data provided by Environment Canada and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Not only do we breath this stuff, but it enters our groundwater, streams, and the ocean with sublethal and lethal impacts on aquatic organisms and our precious fish stocks. Water-borne pollutants that continue to enter the Bay of Fundy are well documented and the impacts are well know, if ignored.

3. Physical Threats: Concerns about earthquakes are real. As Mark Connell recently pointed out in the Telegraph Journal all of these developments are practically sitting on a know active fault that has recorded tremours as high as 6 on the Rikter Scale, generating a tsunamis right here in Atlantic Canada. Rising water levels are expected to impact our shores in only decades according to some of the latest analyses and this will result in negative impacts on shore-side developments currently underway or in the planning stage. Terrorism is, of course, another concern.

We will examine some of the details in later articles. Do you ever get the feeling that we are in some kind of frantic terminal spasms?

That’s my opinion tonight.

Art MacKay

Herring in Passamaquoddy – A good sign!

During the last three years, herring have been returning to their old haunts at Head Harbour Passage and throughout the West Isles area. Phalaropes have returned as well and whales are again commonly feeding in the area. I’ve been told that herring have returned to Passamaquoddy Bay and the lower St. Croix Estuary. Tonight I could smell them again when I took a short boat ride to Ministers Island.

This is a very good sign.

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Say Good-bye to the Northern Right Whale

Head Harbour Passage is the center of the Quoddy Region located on the
Maine, USA, -New Brunswick, Canada, border at the mouth of the Bay of
Fundy. It has been documented to have the highest known biodiversity
on the Atlantic Coast and supports up to 3,000 species of marine
organisms, including many endangered or unique species. It is the
summer grounds of the Northern Right Whales.

For over two years citizens and Canadian governments on all levels
have been trying to protect this area from 3 proposed LNG terminal
developments on the Maine shore of Passamaquoddy Bay. In addition, an
LNG terminal, proposed refinery expansion and associated plastics
production is in the cards at Saint John, NB and, together with
proposed quarry development in NB and NS and other developments it is
clear that the Bay of Fundy will rapidly become “Superport Fundy” with
an exponential rise in ship traffic and a consequent displacement in
marine species and our traditional eco-economy based on fisheries,
aquaculture, and tourism.

Already challenged here, this increased traffic does not bode well for
the future of the Northern Right Whale.

Today, the US State Department issued a statement indicating they will
contest Canada’s stand to protect the Quoddy Region from LNG tankers
and their zdrive tugs. If both LNG proposals currently before FERC are
approved and come to fruition, there will be an average of one LNG
tanker passage per day – an increase in traffic of 400% that will
pass through habitat critical to Rights, Fins, Humpbacks, Minke, and
Harbour Porpoise and other cetaceans.

We need your help. Please write to Secretary C. Rice to protest this
move. American readers are urged to contact your representatives in
Congress and the Senate. Please contact us if you wish to help. You
can do this through our Quoddy Coalition listserv at
http://groups.google.com/group/savepassamaquoddybay or by emailing
m…@bayoffundy.ca. You can sign a petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/924383846. More information
is available at our listserv, www.bayoffundy.ca/LNG and www.savepassamaquoddybay.org.
Ask your friends to help.

Please don’t wait. This is a critical point that will determine the
future of the most endangered marine mammal in our seas. There are
only 300-odd left; 6 were killed this past year. PLEASE ACT NOW!

Petition urges Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to declare Head Harbour an “emergency” MPA

A new petition urges Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to
protect right whales and other species by declaring Head Harbour
Passage part of an “Emergency Marine Protected Area” under the Oceans
Act. Add your voice by going here:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/924383846

The Right Whales are Heading South – What’s the (LNG) lesson?
Comments?

Approaches to Passamaquoddy Bay – See large view here

Depending on who you listen to, 40 – 50 northern right whales have finally left the Quoddy Region for their wintering grounds to the south. During this past month these spectacular endangered animals have dramatically and once more, laid claim to their ancestral habitat. Indeed, they have occurred within the 2 proposed LNG tanker lanes, the lanes that the proponents and their supporters have claimed would not be in the right whale summer range. Long-time professionals are well aware that this is not so. In addition, other cetaceans that are also listed to be of concern or endangered occur here as well and commonly up into Head Harbour Passage. In fact it is the Quoddy Ecosystem that is endangered!

It’s time to “fish or cut bait”. If we are truly concerned about our role as stewards to these great whales, then the LNG proposals in Passamaquoddy Bay must be brought to an end immediately and we should begin the process of determining how we can protect these important species as well as our historic way of life.

Frankly, some mechanism must be found to protect the West Isles and Cobscook area; an international marine protected area that will protect the natural assets of this important area AND our promising “eco-economy” based on fisheries, tourism, and aquaculture. A groundswell is needed to:

1. bring the LNG development to an end,
2. initiate an intelligent examination of mechanisms for protecting this area, and
3. to examine the options for development of a sustainable economy.

If we don’t decide now how we will develop the unique Quoddy Region, we may well lose this special “gift” that we all enjoy and from which we have all prospered.

Your comments and help are needed.

Art MacKay

Last of lingering North Atlantic right whales heading out of Bay of Fundy
Published: Friday, November 24, 2006 | 3:57 PM ET
Canadian Press: ALISON AULD

HALIFAX (CP) – Dozens of rare North Atlantic right whales that were lingering in the Bay of Fundy are finally heading out of the area, amid fears that some could become ensnared in dangerous fishing lines as they move south.

Officials said Friday that there were as few as three of the massive mammals in the bay, after more than 40 of them had delayed their departure by six weeks because of an abundance of plankton.

Jerry Conway of the Department of Fisheries said the endangered whales were trekking south on their annual migration and were spotted in the Gulf of Maine as they venture toward waters off Georgia and Florida.

But, he said he’s received unsubstantiated reports of whales becoming entangled in lengths of lobster line that create a hazard for the slow-moving creatures as they pass through the bay. Conway said fishermen have found some of their gear is missing, raising the possibility that it may be wrapped around some whales.

“There may be two or three whales entangled in gear,” he said. “It has been suggested that there is gear missing that may be showing up in the near future on whales.”

One whale was apparently freed from lobster gear by a fisherman who spotted it and managed to disentangle it. The move came after the start of the lobster fishery was delayed slightly by the whales’ presence in the bay.
Continue Article

Lobster fishermen agreed not to set traps within two kilometres of a whale in a bid to prevent entanglements, while the Fisheries Department conducted aerial surveillance flights to track their movements.

Officials and conservation groups say the whale’s eventual departure caps a bleak season that saw the loss of two females and the deaths of a calf and adult that were hit by ships in the summer feeding grounds.

Both females were killed in Canadian waters, with one found to have 17 vertebrae in her back crushed in a ship collision.

“The loss of even one female right whale could have a significant impact on the ability of the species to survive,” said Conway. “The loss of two is a really serious impact.”

Conway said the two whales could have produced in excess of 20 calves over their lifetimes – a vital contribution to a population that has dwindled to about 320 worldwide after years of being slaughtered, dying in gear or being struck by ships.

About 19 right whales were born this year, but one calf was killed and a pregnant female died in U.S. waters.

Scientists and ecologists are hoping to reduce the risk of ship strikes by pressing the International Maritime Organization to make the Roseway Basin an area to be avoided by large vessels.

Whales migrate to the basin, a diverse ecosystem rich in marine life off the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, every year to feed on plankton and other food sources.

Lori Murrison of the Grand Manan Whale and Seaboard Research Station said Transport Canada has approved the initiative to issue an advisory to seafarers and is optimistic the international group will approve it, possibly next year.

“There can be a substantial number of right whales in that area in the summer time,” she said from Grand Manan, N.B. “So it is important to have that designated.”

If accepted, vessels would be asked to steer clear of the area from June through September while the whales are in the area, but Conway said the measure would be voluntary not binding.

The IMO altered shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundy in 2003 to create a buffer between passing vessels and right whales in the area.

Boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear pose the greatest risks to the right whales.
© The Canadian Press, 2006

Days of Truth – Right Whales, LNG and Tough Legal Decisions.

It’s a time of pressure and concern in communities around the Quoddy Region.

After 4 days of wind, rain, and fog, Saturday, November 18th dawned sunny and clear along the Bay. For the first time in 4 days folks are again able to check on the right whales that seem to be perfectly happy to hang tough in the Quoddy Region. According to Laurie Murison of the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Centre, they’re still here although their numbers may be down to under 20 animals and they seem to be gradually moving away from the shore. Planes are flying to check things out and Mackie Green of the Campobello whale rescue group, accompanied by Sierra Club Rep. Mark Dittrick were checking the area by boat this afternoon.

The lobstermen have set their traps and the big question is whether or not there will be entanglements with the lobster gear. Everyone is holding their collective breaths hoping that the situation will resolve itself with time.

It’s a shame that the Quoddy LNG developers have little concern for these important marine mammals that depend on this area for their future survival. They even claim that rights don’t occur here! Half truths, lies of omission and downright lies permeate the public pronouncements of Dean Girdis and the Smith Team. Perhaps it’s time for the world whale lobby to start making itself known.

In other news, at least two Grand Manan men, found guilty of arson, will not be fishing for awhile. Today the jury found 2 others guilty on firearms charges, and one was found not guilty. While there is an upcoming trial for Ronald Ross on previous charges. It seems strange that no charges were laid against any of the occupants of the Ross house who, according to testimony, also discharged firearms and engaged in the general melee. Are communities totally powerless in dealing with crime and drug dealers?

Art

Right Whales Lay Claim to Historic Grounds

Ever since LNG Carpetbaggers Smith (Quoddy Bay LNG) and Girdis (Downeast LNG) decided to favour Passamaquoddy Bay with 2 LNG terminals and the promise of a huge LNG tanker virtually every day, there has been an ongoing debate about where endangered Northern Right Whales actually hang out.

Some of us old professionals have pointed out that right whales, fins, and minkes commonly foraged down into Head Harbour Passage to Friars Roads and even, on occasion, up into lower Passamaquoddy Bay itself. They commonly occurred just offshore of Head Harbour towards Grand Manan Banks and we encountered Rights in this area frequently while we were doing our biological surveys and collections in the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Closely associated with these feeding concentrations were thousands of seabirds, particularly phalaropes, sometimes present in the millions. The place was alive and fishermen caught tons of herring in Passamaquoddy Bay and up the St. Croix Estuary to Oak Bay. This was only a few short decades ago.

And then it changed. Something happened – near-shore pollution, nutrient loading – whatever it was the plankton populations dropped, the phalaropes disappeared, the herring stayed offshore, and the right whales came in only occasionally.

During this time the new biologists came and established their territory. They did good things too. Moved the Fundy Traffic Lanes towards Nova Scotia to avoid then current concentrations of right whales and established a right whale sanctuary in the area where they found concentrations. Unfortunately, this played into the hands of the LNG developers who insured everyone that their route would miss “ecologically sensitive areas” such as the right whale sanctuary. And people bought in. I was told by a Canadian Coast Guard official that whales didn’t occur into Head Harbour Passage. Years of experience and a desk-jockey knows all the answers!!

Efforts to inform officials about the historic distribution right whales met with contray public statements from the new biologists. Well the right whales have just staked out their historical birthright …. right on top of the 2 proposed LNG tanker routes into Passamaquoddy Bay. For a month now as many as 30, possibly up to 50, right whales have been feeding in Grand Manan Channel right up to Head Harbour Lighthouse, in the open water from there to the mainland New Brunswick shore and in close to land all the way from Blacks Harbour to Maces Bay.

The rights have “spoken”. This is their home territory and we are bound by law, morals, and good sense to protect them from any industrial port growth in Passamaquoddy Bay, particularly LNG.

The accompanying chart shows Fundy Traffic, 2 proposed LNG tanker routes (red), the Grand Manan Ferry route, (blue), the Right Whale Sanctuary off Grand Manan and the fall 2006 area of occurrence to the west. For more information on LNG go to: www.scep.org/LNG.html, www.savepassamaquoddybay.org, and www.bayoffundy.ca.

Art