Alewife Productivity
Trunk River in times past was the most productive herring (alewife) run of Falmouth, implying that Oyster Pond was a good spawning ground and nursery for these fish. From the mid-eighties on, herring had declined drastically. The past two seasons, there were many alewife fingerlings to be found in the pond and also seen leaving the pond. One place to see them on their seaward journey is the weir. The small fish school there before picking up the courage to dart through the culvert into Trunk River Lagoon. OPET would like to be able to measure the Pond's productivity of alewife. However we have not yet found a means to do so. For this, we would have to know how many fish come in to spawn, and how many make it to the age for their seaward journey.
Winter Waterfowl
Abundance of waterfowl wintering over on the pond also is a good indicator of pond health. In the winter of 1998/9, a higher number of fowl and more species were observed than in the previous winter. The following species were seen fishing the northern portion of the pond almost daily during the past winter as long as the pond was not frozen over:
red breasted merganser (up to 20); hooded merganser (up to 60); bufflehead (up to 15); pied biled grebe (2); red-throated loon (2); ring necked duck (3 males); scaup (up to 30); great blue heron (2); kingfisher (2); great cormorant (2 immature); also feeding there were wood duck (2 males); mallard (up to 30); Canada Goose (12) and mute swan (2). In addition, 2 otters have chosen Oyster Pond as hunting grounds, and during the summer of 1998, three Ospreys regularly fished Oyster Pond and Trunk River Lagoon.The reduction of saltwater inflow into Oyster Pond has caused a freshening of the pond to its deepest depths. Associated with this freshening, the vital signs of the pond, such as dissolved oxygen levels, clarity (Secchi depth) and abundance of fish have improved considerably, a breeding population of white perch has re-established itself, and the pond seems to be able to support a greater number of waterfolw during the winter.
The critical element controlling the saltwater inflow into Oyster Pond currently is not the weir but the silt ledge in Trunk River. the height of this ledge is determined by storm tide surges that bring silt and eel grass into the river and into Trunk River Lagoon. These surges are frequent and large because the Trunk River jetties have fallen into disrepair. Lowering of the silt barrier and the Trunk River bed to the elevation that is required for proper functioning of the weir as the single controlling element has to await repair of the jetties. OPET has secured financing from the Town of Falmouth for preparing plans and applying for permits for the repair to the Trunk River system and the jetties. If plans and permits are obtained in time and if the Town of Falmouth votes to grant financing for the project, repair will proceed in the late Fall of 1999. OPET plans to pursue the monitoring of Oyster Pond as well as collect data from Trunk River Lagoon, since the lagoon is expected to become more saline once the silt barrier is removed, and thus may undergo a drastic change. Fine-tuning of the weir elevation can then proceed for setting the best salinity and pond level, and to provide the most favorable habitat for alewife and other fish that breed and live in the pond.
OPET has a membership of over 150 families most but not all of whome live in the pond's watershed area. Twice yearly, OPET's newsletter, The Watershed, is sent to the members and the other watershed area residents. The Watershed highlights the results of the pond studies, informs the readership of ongoing projects, and asks the residents to minimize negative human impact on the pond by reducing or eliminating use of fertilizers and pesticides on their properties, using permeable surfaces for driveways, preserving water resources, and making appropriate use of their septic systems. OPET also encourages local students to undertake studies related to coastal pond ecology for their science projects and offers mentoring and equipment support for same. The Sea Education Association, whose campus lies in Oyster Pond's watershed area, has adopted the pond as a field laboratory for its students whose studies complement in timing and subject matter those of OPET. SEA faculty serve of OPET's board of directors, and OPET board members attend the report sessions of the students' studies and share their knowledge about the pond and its problems with them. The data collected by SEA students will in the future be incorporated into the Oyster Pond data base where appropriate.