Eelgrass destined for destruction is moved up the Shediac River

The Shediac Bay Watershed Association is removing eelgrass from the path of destruction during the twinning of Route 11 and transplanting the plants farther up the ShediacRiver.

This summer, thetwinning of Route 11 in eastern New Brunswick includes work at theShediacBridge that willdestroy a patch of eelgrass in the ShediacRiver.

When the watershed group heard the eelgrass was at risk, it seemed a good opportunity to transplant the aquatic plant upriver by using different planting techniques, said JolyneHebert,project manager with the association.

"We're going to use oyster shells, quahog shells, clam shells that we've drilled a hole through and we're going to pass the plants through the shells and then we're going to use the shells as an anchor in the bottom of the river," Hebert said.

She and her team collect the shells, drill holes into them, thensnorkel out into the river to collect eelgrass shoots from the area where the new bridge will go.

The plants are inserted through the holes in the shell, then planted up the river.

"Eelgrass is extremely important habitat for small fish crabs and shrimp,"Hebert said.

Thisloss of eelgrass was of special concern because the plant is already susceptibleto damageby green crabs, an invasive speciesgrowing in numbers in the region.

According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, green crabs have been in North America since the 1800sand werefirst seen in the Bay of Fundy in the 1950s.

The Petitcodiac Watershed Associationstarted monitoring the invasive crustaceanswhen more sightings were reported in the area. Hebert said a 'huge explosion' inpopulation happened in 2016.

The association is studying the effects of the green crab in ShediacBay but doesn't have enough data to know what effect the invasive crabs are having on the habitat.

Working with Homarus Eco-Centre, a non-profit funded by the Maritime Fisherman's Union, the association is monitoring the new eelgrass beds to see which planting methods work best.

The 1,000 shoots planted so far appearto be thriving.

"It looked great," she said. "Even though we've had some big winds and high tides, the eelgrass that we've transplanted is still there, which is a great sign."