Media Release 5.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Theresa M. Barbo
(774) 263-4219
ccsmedia@coastalstudies.org

PCCS Launches New Cape Cod Bay Ocean Sanctuary & Monitoring Program

(Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA)
In its continued commitment to marine conservation, the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) has launched the Cape Cod Bay Ocean Sanctuary & Monitoring Program, which will include a comprehensive water quality program and eelgrass studies.

The Bay Monitoring Program will draw its science and research staff from a number of other ongoing PCCS initiatives including Right Whale Habitat Studies and Aerial Survey Programs, when and as needed.

"Cape Cod Bay has been the Center's home waters and base for 30 years for our science, conservation and education programs," said PCCS Executive Director Peter Borrelli. "The Bay is a treasure and the Center's commitment to its health and conservation is firm," Borrelli added.

Cape Cod Bay, which is defined as the state waters southward of a line extending from Race Point, Provincetown, to Brant Rock, Duxbury, is one of five state ocean sanctuaries covering an area of 600 square miles. The mission of the program is:

• To study the quality and health of Cape Cod Bay through applied science and research;
• To protect and when possible restore the Bay's estuaries and marshes, barrier beaches, creeks, rivers and harbors from human and natural threats;
• To inform the public and decision makers about the natural resources of the Bay and threats to their long-term protection;
• To advise local, state and federal resource managers about this unique marine environment;
• To preserve Cape Cod Bay as a State Ocean Sanctuary, as defined by Chapter 132 of the General Laws of Massachusetts.

In addition to concerns about sewage treatment [nutrient loading,] through its Bay program the Center will view Cape Cod Bay through a different research lens. Over 30 discharge facilities line its rim. The health of Cape Cod's watershed is compromised by pollution runoff, a major issue on the Cape. "This type of pollution is the result of contaminants picked up in rainwater and melting snow which are eventually emptied into the Bay," explains PCCS Associate Scientist Amy Costa, who will coordinate Bay research as principal investigator (PI). Associate S

Eight offshore and 21 nearshore stations comprise the water quality station network. Costa will also sample nearshore stations both by boat and from shore. Data will therefore be collected along the entire shoreline of Cape Cod Bay, targeting areas of concern such as harbors, sewage disposal sites, surface water discharge sites, and shellfish beds, as well as from the offshore waters and less accessible regions of the bay. Bi-weekly sampling will begin in mid-April and continue through October. Nearshore sampling will be conducted at each station, 2-3 hours before high tide and again 2-3 hours after high tide. Water quality sampling will measure nutrients, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity.

Sampling of eelgrass ecosystems will be conducted bi-weekly over high tide (between the water quality sampling). Collections will be made by snorkeling or SCUBA diving, depending on the depth of the site. Costa will conduct eelgrass studies on the Brewster Flats and Billingsgate Shoals aboard the Good Fortune. Eelgrass meadows will prove critical in determining the health of the bay ecosystem since they act as a refuge and nursery for juvenile fish and shellfish.

Through the generosity of Thomas Niles of Cambridge, a member of the PCCS board of directors, the Sanctuary Program has acquired the R/V Good Fortune. The water quality component of the Cape Cod Bay Ocean Sanctuary & Monitoring Program will include 8 offshore and 21 nearshore stations. Offshore sampling will take place at previously established sites for the Right Whale Habitat Program.

From time to time PCCS will host public forums on Bay-related issues. The Monitoring Program will provide monthly and annual reports on the state of Cape Cod Bay and will be available on the PCCS website.

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The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies is dedicated to protecting marine mammals and coastal ecosystems through public education, scientific research, and conservation programs. Since its founding in 1976, the private, non-profit has become internationally renowned for its whale research and rescue programs, and is a leading authority for science-based resource management policies in Massachusetts through Coastal Solutions Initiative, the Center's public policy arm.

The Massachusetts Oceans Sanctuaries Act attempts to protect the ecology of the appearance of the ocean, the seabed and the subsoil from any exploitation, development or activity that would seriously alter or endanger those resources. Under the Act, fisheries are not regulated, nor does the statute regulate living resource extraction, but does regulate non-renewable resource development, discharging, marine construction, and shoreline alternation. Proposal for construction, development, or alteration of these waters are regulated through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. These sanctuaries extend three miles from the state's coast, however, in the case of the Cape Cod Bay Ocean Sanctuary, this limit was extended to all of Cape Cod Bay, according to a 2003 PCCS report.

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