Looking for Stripers: Monitoring Changes to Species Assemblage in the Tewapskik (Annapolis River), Nova Scotia, Following the Decommissioning of a Tidal Power Station.

Creaser, Leah*, Rachel Pomerleau, Keeler Colton, Trevor Avery, Biology Department, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada

The barrage style Annapolis Royal Generating Station (ARGS) in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia was Canada’s only power generating station using the tides of the Bay of Fundy. In 2019, ARGS’s power generating operations were decommissioned, although structurally it remains. Historically, beach seining was completed to quantify species assemblages during ARGS operations. After decommissioning, contemporary monitoring began in 2021. From July to November 2022, historical sampling sites were again sampled using beach seining surveys. Post decommissioning survey data are compared with historical survey data to characterize changes in species presence, abundance, diversity, and potential recolonization events such as Striped Bass Morone saxatilis.