Clarington Central - Day 3

Monday morning the Clarington students boarded their bus early and headed for Blacks Harbour to catch the ferry to Grand Manan Island.  While onboard the ferry the students conducted a transect survey for marine mammals but unfortunately the water was pretty choppy and there were no whales to be seen.  But there were lots of seabirds.
 
Upon arrival the group visited Dark Harbour, on the back side of the island.  Here there are cliffs of columnar volcanic basalt.  The students explored the beach along the harbour and went in search of hexagonal rocks of basalt that have fallen from the cliffs.  In the harbour there were rings of salmon aquaculture cages, giving a clue to one of the industries on the island.  This harbour is also where all the dulse is brought after being handpicked from the shorelines along the west coast of the island before it is taken elsewhere to be dried and packaged.   
 
The next stop for the group was Roland’s Sea Vegetables, a shop where dulse and other seaweeds from the island are dried and sold.  The students had the opportunity to try the different kinds of seaweeds, including nori and dulse, and quite a few purchased some to take home to share with their families. 
 
Continuing the tour of the island the group visited Long Pond Beach at the Anchorage Park.  Here the students walked along the sandy beach and conducted a scavenger hunt.  Some of the items they had to search for were signs of a vertebrate, litter from the lobster industry, and a crab carapace.  Here the students were able to see the large waves and just how rough the water was, thus the reason they went  whale watching the previous day when the water was calm.
 
Just before supper the group visited Captain Peter, a lobster fisherman.  He showed the students his lobster traps, lines and buoys, and discussed the preparations he is making for the upcoming lobster season.
 
At the end of the day the group arrived at the Whale Camp where they would be having supper and staying the night.  After supper Laurie Murison from the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station gave the students a presentation on the different whales that visit the Bay of Fundy, including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.

The students had a great day exploring the island and were lucky the rain held off until they were tucked in for the night!

Dark Harbour beach

Salmon cage in Dark Harbour

Basalt cliffs

On the other side of the road is the area where the dulse is dried.

Some of the seaweed samples.

Waves at Long Pond Beach

Lots of see and find on the beach.

Peter's lobster gear