5. Name of Wetland: SHEPODY BAY, New Brunswick

1. Country: Canada

2. Effective Date of Information: The information provided is taken from text supplied at the time of designation to the List of Wetlands of International Importance, May 1987 and updated by CWS Atlantic Region in January 1993 .

3. Reference: Canada - 21.

4. Name and Address of Compiler: Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0H3.

5. Date of Ramsar Designation: 27 May 1987.

6. Geographical Coordinates: 45ø47'N., 64ø35'W.

7. General Location: Shepody Bay is situated at the head of the Bay of Fundy, 50 km south of the City of Moncton, New Brunswick.

8. Area: 12 200 ha.

9. Wetland Type (Ramsar Classification System): Marine and Coastal Wetlands

   Type 1 - Marine waters - permanent shallow waters less than six metres deep at low tide;includes sea bays, straits.

   Type 4 - Rocky marine shores; includes rocky offshore islands, sea cliffs.

   Type 6 - Estuarine waters;permanent waters of estuaries and estuarine systems of deltas.

   Type 7 - Intertidal mud, sand or salt flats.

   Type 8 - Intertidal marshes;includes salt marshes, salt meadows, saltings, raised salt marshes, tidal brackish and freshwater marshes.

10. Altitude: -6 to +6 meters

11. Overview (Principle Characteristics): The area consists of 7 700 ha of open water, 4 000 ha of mud flats, 400 ha of salt marsh and 100 ha of beach.

12. Physical Features (Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Soils, Water, Climate): The area is situated at the head of the Bay of Fundy, an area with the largest tidal range in the world (up to 14 m in Shepody Bay). Shepody Bay is a large tidal embayment surrounded by low, rolling upland. A narrow band of salt marsh occurs along the western shore, whereas the eastern side is characterised by a rocky, eroding coastline with sand-gravel beaches. The northern limit of the bay is at the confluence of the Petitcodiac and Memramcook rivers.

13. Ecological Features (Habitats, Vegetation): The most striking feature of the wetlands here is the extensive intertidal mudflats on both sides of the Bay. At Grande Anse and at Daniel's Flats they extend seaward for over 2 km at low tide. The flats consist of fine silts that have been built up over time through deposition from muddy tidal waters. These extensive areas and their associated invertebrate fauna are critical feeding grounds for migrant sandpipers and plovers during late summer and early autumn.

14. Land Tenure:

    (a) Site: The site is principally open water and exposed beach and is, thus, undeeded and under the jurisdiction of the Province of New Brunswick. The salt marshes which were previously drained and used for agriculture have been abandoned; present ownership is unknown. A large island (Grindstone Island) within the Bay is owned by the Anglican Church. The Canadian Wildlife Service owns a small research cabin and .25 ha lot at the most critical beach habitat.

    (b) Surrounding Area: Most of the surrounding upland is in private ownership. A small Provincial Park "The Rocks" abuts the site at Hopewell Cape.

15. Conservation Measures Taken: Shepody Bay, along with two other sites (Mary's Point, Minas Basin) in the upper Fundy region collectively form the Bay of Fundy Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve. The site is unprotected. However, it does abut the Mary's Point unit of Shepody National Wildlife Area which is protected under federal jurisdiction.

16. Conservation Measures Proposed: In 1993,a Management Plan for a portion of the Bay was drafted recommending site securement for a number of key habitats.

17. Current Land Use/Activities in:

    (a) Site: There are no specific management practices carried on within this wetland, except for a shorebird banding station operated by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

    (b) Surrounding Area: The surrounding habitat consists of farms, woodlots, open fields and cottages. There has been very little change in land use around the Bay in the past 20 years.

18. Threats to Integrity of:

    (a) Site: There is a possibility of the establishment of a tidal power barrage at the mouth of Shepody Bay.

    (b) Surrounding Area: There is a proposal for the development of a scenic coastal highway "The Fundy Trail" which would use existing highways on both the West and East sides of the Bay and would undoubtedly bring additional tourists to the area and possibly additional seasonal tourist developments.

19. Hydrological/Physical Values: The Fundy coast at Dorchester Cape- Johnson's Mills is a very scenic coastal landscape.

20. Social/Cultural Values: The annual migration of shorebirds is a phenomenon that is attracting a growing number of naturalists and an increasing number of organized field excursions to the beaches at Dorchester Cape each August.

21. Noteworthy Fauna: The bay is important for the large numbers of shorebirds using the site. Along with Mary's Point, the Shepody Bay site hosts the largest numbers of Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla with maximum numbers at roosting sites occasionally exceeding 400 000 birds. Smaller numbers of Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus, Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola, Short-billed Dowitcher Calidris minutilla, and a variety of other species, also use the site. In total, over two million shorebirds use the wetland from mid-July to early November. The salt marshes support several hundred Canada Geese Branta canadensis and Black Duck Anas rubripes, lesser numbers of Green-winged Teal Anas crecca carolinensis and Pintail Anas acuta during spring and large numbers of Common Eider Somateria mollissima. Scoters move through the bay on route to more northerly breeding grounds.

    The endangered Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus anatum nests on cliff sides at two locations within the Bay.

    Of particular importance to shorebirds is the occurrence of mud-dwelling amphipod Corophium volutator which, in North America, occurs only in the Bay of Fundy and in the highest densities in the world.

22. Noteworthy Flora: Grindstone Island has a very interesting mature stand of Red Spruce.

23. Current Scientific Research and Facilities: Shorebird research projects conducted in the upper Bay of Fundy during the period 1974-1983 have documented the importance of Shepody Bay for shorebirds. The Canadian Wildlife Service owns and maintains a small shorebird research station on the shores of the bay. In 1986, over 2 500 shorebirds were banded at Grande Anse and over 10,000 during the period 1982-88.

24. Current Conservation Education: No organized on site facility, however, lectures and field trips are conducted annually in association with Elderhostel sessions at Mount Allison University and during the annual Atlantic Waterfowl Celebration held in Sackville N.B. every August.

25. Current Recreation and Tourism: "The Rocks" Provincial Park on the NW side of the Bay has a visitor centre otherwise no facility exists. Tourism is increasing with the Province actively promoting it's natural history values with the slogan "Come Share Our Good Nature". The late summer shorebird spectacle at Shepody Bay is promoted in tourism literature and the number of people visiting the area is on the increase.

26. Management Authority: The site has no protective status except for The Rocks Provincial Park, a 72 ha site under the jurisdiction of the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy. Environment Canada owns and maintains a small (.25 ha) research station at Johnson's Mills near Dorchester Cape.

27. Jurisdiction: Provincial and private.

28. Selected Bibliography:
    • Harrington, B.A. and R.I.G. Morrison. 1979. Semi-palmated sandpiper migration in North America. Studies in Avian Biology 2: 83-100. Cooper Ornithological Society, Los Angeles, California.

    • Hicklin, P.W. 1987. The migration of shorebirds in the Bay of Fundy. Wilson Bulletin, 99(4), pp 540-570.

    • Hicklin, P.W. and A.D. Smith.1988. Naming and Protecting Wildlife Habitats: Hemispheric Shorebird Reserves and Ramsar Sites. N.S. Conservation 12(2) 6-9.

    • Majka, M. 1978. Wings over Fundy. Nature Canada 7(3).

    • Morrison, R.I.G. 1974 to 1978. Annual reports of the Maritime Shorebird Survey, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario.

    • Morrison, R.I.G. 1976. Use of the Bay of Fundy by shorebirds. In Daborn, G.R. (editor). Proceedings, Workshop of Fundy Tidal Power and the Environment. Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

29. Reasons for Ramsar Designation: The wetland supports the largest numbers of mixed species of shoreline birds during fall migration in all of North America. Shepody Bay is a critical component of the Bay of Fundy International Shorebird Reserve declared under the WHSRN which also includes the Mary's Point and Minas Basin Ramsar sites.