Bay of Fundy clam license for sale

In case you've ever fancied trying your hand at commercial clam harvesting in the Bay of Fundy, you will be pleased to know that a clam license has just been posted for sale on KiJiJi. Lobster licenses sell for millions here on the Bay of Fundy, however, your foray into commercial clamming will cost a mere $1000. A caution though: it's terrifically hard work, wildly muddy and your schedule is commanded by the tide times...but, look at the bright side, you'd get to be at the bay every day!

'Countryside' in the Bay of Fundy

It seems reasonably easy to describe the Bay of Fundy in the blue, green, gold and red weather months. However, winter often goes unappreciated by those of us who live here and undiscovered by visitors. Personally, I'm mesmerized by winter around the Bay of Fundy - so many great conditions for taking photos. Any of you who play around in the photography scene would appreciate the leaden sea, snow burdened spruces, ice cakes and daily transformations of the intertidal zone.

Here's my b&w photo of a charming farmstead nestled in the Cobequid Escarpment (half way down Economy Mountain in the Minas Basin).

The Season For Strange Lobster

If you thought the blue Bay of Fundy lobster I mentioned last month was cool, take a look at this one just caught...her left side is green but her right is orange! It’s as if she was painted two colours from the centre of her body outward.

For sure this little two-toned gal is a rare, so rare that despite being too small for the official dinner table catch, she landed herself a special one-way ticket to a research aquarium at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The chances are about 1 in 30 million that a two-toned lobster (caused by genetics) will be hauled up in a trap. This one will be kept in an aquarium at BIO, where school classes and other groups can come to see her.

High to low Bay of Fundy tide in 55 seconds

In an effort to help folks figure out how this whole Bay of Fundy tide thing works, I've found myself collecting both high/low photo sets and time lapse videos. I know...most people collect stamps or spoons, but hey, each to her or his own. I did some surfing on YouTube this weekend and located this great little time lapse video taken last summer from a great clifftop vantage point. It really gives a sense of the volume of water moving into the bay on one tide cycle. Take notice particularly at the end when the Bay appears to be filling up like a bathtub! Click on these links or use the side menu to see more videos or high-low pics.

Prestigious Honour for Bay of Fundy Towns

I just heard that two of our Bay of Fundy towns placed in the top five in a national competition..... Oh, what's the competition, you ask? Well, it was the Environment Canada challenge for foggiest Canadian towns/cities...

This is no small feat, I can assure you. It took 30 years of data to compile this comprehensive list of weather winners. Only communities with populations of at least 10,000 were eligible (which rules out the many other foggy Fundy towns who would have easily been contenders!). Our Saint John, New Brunswick, and Truro, Nova Scotia, ranked 3rd and 5th respectively. Congrats!

Bay of Fundy Tidal Energy News

Looks like the Bay of Fundy, already a magnet for fossil hunters, will soon be more involved in the global quest for fossil-fuel alternatives. The Premier of Nova Scotia just announced that a tidal power demonstration project will proceed (pending a full environmental assessment). To say this will make waves on the international scene is no exaggeration. That’s because the Bay of Fundy is blessed with some of the most robust tides in the world. Hopefully, the good news will be that we are no longer dealing with dams that damage ecosystems but with the equivalent of wind turbines that churn underwater. Photo shows demo CleanTech in-stream turbine, one of the candidate companies for the project.

Twelve million dollars will now be dedicated to building a testing and research facility that will serve two purposes: the beachhead where the energy gathered by the underwater turbines is converted to electricity and a research lab where scientists will gauge the environmental, technical and commercial feasibility of harnessing the Bay of Fundy tides. It's my understanding that there is also supposed to be some kind of interpretive centre for visitors.

If it all works out, the Bay of Fundy could be transformed into an internationally significant centre of excellent for tidal power.

Fundy Tidal Power Annoucement Today!

The Premier of Nova Scotia and the Provincial Energy Minister are coming to Parrsboro today for a press conference about tidal energy. I'm kinda thinking that they are going announce which companies have been chosen to build a tidal power demonstration devices in Minas Channel area of the Bay of Fundy.

I just happen to have this handy-dandy photo of the entrance to the channel as the diplay pic on my desktop. I took this last summer at half-tide. That's Cape Blomidon in the background and the edge of Partridge Island there in the middle with the tree topping. The Channel runs between them

The Minas Basin and Minas Channel have been regarded as prime North American sites for tidal power production. Click here for an aerial view of the Minas Channel or for more info take a look at my other posts in the tidal energy section of my blog (see menu in the margin).

Watch A Mussel Grow Webcam

OK, this is really cool. The folks at FlexMussels in our neighbouring province of Prince Edward Island have a great website feature: a web cam that follows the growth of, ahem, a blue mussel. Since we also harvest mussels around the Bay of Fundy, I thought I'd make an exception to my unofficial all-things-Bay-of-Fundy blog rule and give you a chance to take a look at the little fella, here's the web cam link. Remember: patience is a virtue...

You may know by know that I'm a huge mussel fan. I see a foodie trip to PEI in my future... Check out some of my previous recipe posts: Mussels with Ginger Pesto, Blue Cheese Mussels, Green Thai Curry Mussels, Spiced Beer Mussels and Mussels Panagea.

Happy New Year from the Bay of Fundy!

Frosty winter photo from our friend and photographer, Trish, at the Annapolis Historic Garden. Happy New Year!