ECOLOGY OF BUZZARDS BAY: An Estuarine Profile 97 



6.1. Human Impacts 



Over the past several centuries. Buzzards Bay 

 has experienced major shifts in both marine and land- 

 based activities, many of which have affected the 

 bay to some degree. Some of these activities have 

 had a major impact on the utility and to some extent 

 functioning of the bay, such as the construction of 

 the Cape Cod Canal, yet have resulted in little en- 

 vironmental degradation to the system. Some ac- 

 tivities, such as overfishing, were identified early on 

 as potentially detrimental to the health of the bay, 

 allowing sufficient time to implement management 

 strategies. The impacts of other activities, how- 

 ever, are only recently beginning to be recognized, 

 and our limited understanding of their long-term con- 

 sequences hinders development of sound manage- 

 ment policies to ensure protection of the system. 

 Of these activities, the most recent focus of con- 

 cern is the long-term effect of nutrient loading on 

 the water quality of the bay. 



Although water quality conditions in Buzzards 

 Bay are still relatively good, some of the smaller 

 circulation-restricted coves and inlets around the 

 bay are experiencing declines. While PCB contami- 

 nation and oil pollution present significant problems 

 for the bay ecosystem, they tend to be localized 

 (e.g., New Bedford Inner Harbor and Wild Har- 

 bor), with the major threat to Buzzards Bay aquatic 

 resources being primarily from increased nutrient 

 inputs. The growth in residential development and 

 increased tourism are frequently identified as the 

 causes for water quality declines, the long-term im- 

 plications of which are still unclear. Periodic eutrophi- 

 cation events occur when increased nutrient inputs 

 stimulate the overproduction of algae and phy- 

 toplankton, which, with dark respiration activities 

 and decomposition, can result in oxygen depletion 

 in these water bodies. The impacts of these nutrient 

 inputs are greatest in shallow, circulation-restricted 

 embayments, where lower rates of dilution and 

 flushing are less effective in ameliorating the effects 

 of additional inputs. In addition, stimulated growth 

 of epiphytes on eelgrass as a result of increased 

 nutrient loading can cause the decline of eelgrass 

 beds, important in the production of bay scallops 



and other commercially valuable species. For a 

 major estuarine system in the metropolitan corri- 

 dor, however, the entirety of Buzzards Bay remains 

 relatively pristine, still supporting a diversity of eco- 

 systems, benthic communities, and fisheries (Tables 

 l . 1 . 4. 1 . 4.5, and 5.1). The goal for environmental 

 managers will be to maintain the diversity and func- 

 tions of the bay system as development continues. 



6.1.1. Cape Cod Canal 



The shallow waters off the easternmost shores 

 of Cape Cod have historically claimed many ships 

 and lives. Attention was often drawn to the narrow 

 strip of land separating Cape Cod Bay from Buz- 

 zards Bay as a potential route to avoid these treach- 

 erous waters. This narrow, low strip of land, formed 

 at the joint of the Buzzards Bay lobe and the Cape 

 Cod Bay lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, had two 

 rivers that together nearly connected the bays. The 

 Scusset River flowed northeast to Cape Cod Bay, 

 and the Monument River southwest to Buzzards 

 Bay. with only a few kilometers of low valley sepa- 

 rating their headwaters. Early settlers discovered 

 this trading route from the Indians, who used small 

 boats to transport goods from Scusset River, haul- 

 ing goods over land a few kilometers to the head- 

 waters of the Manomet River and out to Buzzards 

 Bay. Discussions were recorded as early as 1 620 

 regarding the potential for a canal to be dug con- 

 necting these rivers, and three centuries later the 

 Cape Cod Canal was constructed along nearly the 

 same route; the history of the canal summarized here 

 is extensively described in Farson ( 1 993 ). By 1 627, 

 the use of the rivers even with portage became a 

 popular route for Plymouth to trade with the com- 

 munities along the Connecticut River and New York. 

 Many initial planning attempts were made for con- 

 structing a canal, most notably when British war- 

 ships blockaded the offshore route around Cape 

 Cod in 1 776 and later during the War of 1 8 1 2. 

 The project continued to flounder despite steady 

 increases in shipping and shipwrecks, as well as an 

 increased concern for future military defense. Sev- 

 eral charters were granted, and there was even an 

 initial start at digging by the Cape Cod Canal 



