Description

The Bay of Fundy is a northern temperate, macrotidal environment forming the northeastern extension of the Gulf of Maine, and has been utilized by humans (and wildlife) for millennia. Overall, the Bay extends approximately 250 km in a northeasterly direction between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and its uppermost region is divided into two distinctive bodies of water: Chignecto Bay in New Brunswick and Cumberland Basin and Minas Basin in Nova Scotia.

Both upper arms of the Bay of Fundy are macrotidal and boast of having the highest tides in the world (17 meters). Both sites accommodate approximately 3,000 hectares of mudflats during the low tide periods, habitats which contain a rich community of intertidal invertebrates, marked primarily by the burrowing amphipod Corophium volutator. In turn, these mudflats provide critical food resources for both fish and migratory shorebirds, principally a significant portion or 70% of the world’s population of Semipalmated Sandpipers Calidris pusilla.

The intertidal portions of the Bay of Fundy, up to the high tide mark, are managed by the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, while subtidal regions are managed by the federal government. The upper beaches, which extend to the high tide mark of the bay, are privately owned. Chignecto Bay, from Fort Folly Point (between Chignecto Bay and Cumberland Basin) to Mary’s Point/Grindstone Island, to Cape Maringouin, New Brunswick, makes up the Shepody Section of the Bay of Fundy Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve (1987). The southwestern extension of Minas Basin, from Blomidon to Pembroke south to Windsor, Nova Scotia, makes up the Southern Bight, Minas Basin Section of the shorebird reserve (1989). Part of the intertidal portion of the Southern Bight is managed by the province of Nova Scotia (N.S. Dept. Natural Resources) as a conservation area.

The climate is temperate with cold winters December to March (-4.7 to -2.5°C), warmest in July and August (17.1 and 16.9°C, respectively) with moderate days and cool nights, rainiest in May and October (115.9 and 122.6 mm, respectively). Each year, the Bay of Fundy supports between 1.1 and 2.2 million migrant Semipalmated Sandpipers Calidris pusilla, or 70% of the world’s population of this species during their southward migration. The mouth of the bay also serves as a critical rearing and foraging area for the endangered Right Whale.

Herring and lobster fishing and aquaculture are major industries in the Bay of Fundy, and digging for clams is a common pastime over the summer months.

Fisheries and ecotourism are major industries in small towns and villages bordering the Bay of Fundy, and an annual sandpiper festival is held in Dorchester, New Brunswick, each year.