This June, MassBays began collecting field samples as part of several monitoring programs. Twice a month, our scientists collect water samples across Duxbury-Kingston-Plymouth (DKP) bays and from Danvers River/Salem Sound to measure nutrients, chlorophyll, and alkalinity levels. This work is made possible thanks to MassBays' dedicated Lower North Shore and South Shore Regional Coordinators. The Danvers/Salem team includes Salem Sound Coastwatch, the Beverly and Salem harbormasters, Salem State University and EPA Chelmsford Lab; the DKP team includes North and South Rivers Watershed Association, Duxbury Bay Maritime School, and Center for Coastal Studies. 

In addition, MassBays deployed three multisensory systems with the help of USGS to measure water quality including a buoy in each of the Lower Merrimack River and Duxbury-Kingston bays, and a dockside system in the lower part of the Danvers River. Later this fall, the sensors will be removed and the data will be analyzed and shared. The results will be incorporated into the MassBays Ecohealth Tracking Tool to help inform scientists and decision makers on the changing conditions in these embayments.

MassBays' work in the field provided a unique opportunity to do short snorkel missions to check on areas for potential eelgrass seeding. Next summer, MassBays will kick off a multi-year eelgrass seeding project that will reinforce eelgrass habitat in four embayments across our service area.

In other eelgrass news, MassBays is in the second year of sampling for a seed research project funded by WHOI Sea Grant, and in year three of conducting ground-truthing for MassDEP’s aerial eelgrass mapping project that will focus on Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound.

Read more here: https://seagrant.whoi.edu/sowing-seeds-of-restoration/ 

River herring in the South River upstream of the Veterans Memorial Park Dam site (May 2025). The temporary bypass channel was constructed so that fish could pass during the project.

This spring MassBays' South Shore Regional Service Provider, North and South Rivers Watershed Association (NSRWA), and their partners volunteered their time to keep an eye out for migrating herring. During the last 369 years, the South River herring passage has been obstructed by the Veterans Memorial Park dam and a poorly functioning fish ladder. This year, the partners were excited to report that thousands of river herring were observed as the fish travelled through the temporary bypass channel in Veterans Memorial Park to the South River, making it all the way up to the Chandler Pond Dam. 

The removal of the Veterans Memorial Park Dam in 2021 required collaboration and creative thinking from many stakeholders and decisionmakers. Throughout construction, the contractor and Division of Marine Fisheries worked closely to ensure sufficient flow for safe fish passage. As a result, river herring have finally been able to pass through this now open site and reach spawning grounds upstream. This is significant because any juveniles that survive will come back to this system to spawn in 3 years. This spring’s spawning run lasted through June, when construction resumed. 

This project is part of a larger South River restoration effort that is projected to remove a second dam in late 2025 and is developing dam removal designs so that fish may access spawning grounds at Chandler Pond. This project was made possible with support from the Town of Marshfield, Marshfield residents and Veterans, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and NSRWA. 

You can read more about NSRWA’s projects and programs including their annual Horseshoe Crab surveys, a two-year salt marsh study, and a recently initiated intertidal mussel program here at NSWRA.org. 

Veterans Memorial Park pre-construction (April 2024) and under construction with dam removed and temporary bypass in place (April 2025).

Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW), MassBays' Lower North Shore regional service provider, and their volunteers have been collecting data on the population of North Shore horseshoe crabs for the past two years. Since May 2023, 234 horseshoe crab sightings have been reported from Cape Cod to Great Bay (NH). The greatest number of reported sightings were in Salem and Marblehead with spawning “hotspots” at Collins Cove Beach and the Forest River (Lead Mills Conservation Area and Pickman Park) where more than half of the reported live horseshoe crabs were actively mating. The survey also revealed tides to be a reliable predictor of horseshoe crab activity, as the crabs were mostly observed in the hours surrounding high tide.



Evidence of the importance of beaches on the North Shore as breeding habitat for this species at key times of the year can help SSCW advocate for increased protections. In fact, based on these findings, the City of Salem has reduced the frequency and extent of beach grooming at Collins Cove Beach to limit nest and emerging hatchling disturbance. 

Read more In SSCW’s horseshoe crab report.

Above: Spawning horseshoe crabs in the Forest River (Salem).

Scargo Lake 6A Landing before (left) and after (right) construction (photo credit: Gerald Beetham).

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), MassBays' Cape Cod regional service provider, is excited to announce that construction of stormwater BMPs at two key sites around Scargo Lake, in Dennis, MA., has been completed, resulting in major stormwater upgrades at Dr. Lord’s Road (Scargo Beach) and at the Rt. 6A Scargo Landing boat ramp. 

Before these improvements, untreated stormwater flowed directly into Scargo Lake, carrying pollutants that degraded water quality and threatened the spawning habitat of river herring. The town of Dennis identified these sites as high priority due to long-standing concerns over elevated phosphorus levels and a rising trend in nitrogen concentrations since 2001. APCC is looking forward to improvements in the lake water quality and enhanced habitat for river herring and other aquatic species.

In recent weeks, native vegetation has been planted throughout the bioretention areas and around the new porous pavement. These plants will help stabilize soil, support pollinators, and boost the system’s ability to filter pollutants. In total, the upgrades now capture and treat stormwater from more than 5 acres of land—delivering lasting benefits for water quality, habitat health, and community use. We hope to see the benefits of these improvements as more wildlife is observed in the area.

This project was funded by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants, a private foundation grant, the town of Dennis, and the MassBays National Estuary Partnership.

Read full story here.

Installation of underground infiltration chambers and water quality unit at 6A Landing (left) and native plantings at Dr. Lords Road Scargo Beach bioretention area (right) (photo credit, Gerald Beetham)

Bubble map showing microplastic abundance (number/m³) in 2020-2024 by location with marker size indicating relative microplastic abundance. 

Every year, 450 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. Most of the plastic waste makes its way into our lakes, rivers and ultimately ends up in the oceans where it is broken down into microplastics (<5mm) and becomes a hazard to marine life as well as humans.  

About 80% of microplastics found in the ocean come from land-based sources. This makes coastal areas particularly vulnerable. These habitats act as both filters as well as the frontlines where most of these pollutants, whether through stormwater runoff, trash left behind on beaches, or plastics carried by rivers, enter the ocean.  

To better understand the presence and abundance of microplastics in our waterways, MassBays' Upper North Shore Regional Service Provider, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission’s (MVPC) environmental department has been collecting surface water samples across our coastal region. Over the last five years, 69 samples have been collected from across the Great Marsh and processed in labs at the University of New Hampshire. Results indicate that plastic was present in every sample collected.  

One common finding in samples was the prevalence of synthetic fabric fibers, making up more than half of the plastics in all but one of the 69 samples. This indicates that shedding from clothing and other textiles is a major contributor to the microplastics ending up in our coastal waters. While remediation of microplastics from the environment is a challenge, there are actions we can take to help. Reducing plastic demand and production helps to limit manufacturing at the source. Proper disposal of plastic waste also reduces the chance of plastic making its way into the environment. Additionally, regular cleanups and removal of large plastic debris from our environment help to prevent the breakdown into microplastics. To discover more actions you can do to reduce plastic, check out the Ten Towns Toolkit, developed by our neighbors in New Hampshire, and say yes to the Plastic Free July Challenge!  

You can learn more about ongoing initiatives and research on the Environmental Program web page at Environment | MVPC.  

MassBays Regional Coordinator Hanna Mogensen and Cate Wardinski sampling surface microplastics in the Great Marsh. (photo credit, Gregg Moore, University of New Hampshire). 

Boston Harbor Ecosystem Network (BHEN)

Salt Marsh Symposium, Field Trips, and

a call for field observations!

MassBays' Metro Boston regional service provider, Northeastern University's Marine Science Center held its Spring 2025 Boston Harbor Ecosystem Network (BHEN) meeting, in collaboration with the MassECAN Salt Marsh Working Group on April 30. The Salt Marsh Science Symposium featured presentations and robust discussions about pressing salt marsh issues including the need for standardized monitoring metrics, and salt marsh migration from colleagues at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Waquoit Bay NERR, Great Bay NERR, MA Office of Coastal Zone Management, The Nature Conservancy, and Save the Bay.

More recently, BHEN held its first summer field trip on June 30 off Fisherman’s Beach in Swampscott, MA, featuring seining for critters that call eelgrass beds home. This was followed by a visit to the Cat Cove Marine Laboratory in Salem, MA, where participants learned about current and future research innovations in seed-based eelgrass restoration. Many dedicated eelgrass scientists from MassBays, MA DMF, and EPA Region 1 shared their knowledge and enthusiasm for eelgrass habitat with a curious and engaged group. It is hoped that these programs serve to provide a way to enhance eelgrass habitat in our waters and meet one of MassBays’ long-term goals.

On July 17, BHEN traveled to Spectacle Island with Lucy Lockwood (UMass Boston) and Aly Putnam (UMass Amherst) for hands-on learning about intertidal biodiversity monitoring for the type of mixed coarse substrate common in the Boston Harbor Islands and elsewhere in New England. Attendees also searched for Manila clam shells (Ruditapes philippinarum) to contribute qualitative data towards a minor invasive species mystery: are these clam shells, from a species widely cultivated elsewhere in the world but not native to the New England region, originating from Boston Harbor, or are they illicit discards from summer boat parties featuring pasta alle vongole?  

Those interested in copies of the Salt Marsh Symposium presentation slides or summary of panel discussions; the Cat Cove Laboratory eelgrass presentation slides; or the two Boston Harbor Islands intertidal biodiversity monitoring posters should contact the Metro Boston Regional Coordinator, Diana Chin.

Above: Viewing sand shrimp from a Swampscott eelgrass bed, June 2025. (photo credit, Diana Chin)

Field observations of Manila clams (especially any live individuals found during recreational clam digging) can be submitted to iNaturalist or reported to Dr. Chin.  

July 2025 - MassBays National Estuary Partnership seeks Director position. The Director of the MassBays oversees and manages all aspects of the program's operations including overall fiscal management, short- and long-range planning, funds development and communications, and development of specific, annual budgets and work plans. The position supervises three direct staff positions and manages the contracts for five Regional Service Providers (RSPs). The Director is the lead for developing and implementing initiatives and policies that support the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP).

Read full description and apply here.