Atlantic Canada Shellfish Water Quality Protection Program

This program is designed to protect consumers of shellfish from health hazards associated with bacterial contamination through the monitoring of shellfish growing waters. The water sampling program along the New Brunswick coastline of Gulf of Maine is carried out under the cooperative bacterial monitoring program with the local community group (Eastern Charlotte Waterways Inc).

Water samples are analyzed for fecal coliform bacteria (Most Probable Number [MPN] per 100ml, using the 5-tube MPN method). Other parameters such as water temperature and salinity are also measured. Other relevant observations such as pollution sources, weather, antecedent precipitation, shellfish resource and aquaculture sites, tidal conditions, etc. are also maintained in the database.