This document discusses ocean sustainability efforts on Martha's Vineyard. It outlines the importance of oceans, the island's dependence on water historically and currently, challenges like nitrogen pollution and overfishing, and various organizations working on conservation and education including the Martha's Vineyard Commission, Wampanoag Tribe, Vineyard Conservation Society, and MVYLI's ocean sustainability program.

1. Martha’s Vineyard
Ocean Sustainability
Charlotte McCarron in collaboration with Elise Quebec

2. Why are oceans important?
 We are an ISLAND and WATER is important
 Cover about three-quarters of the Earth
 Create and regulate weather around the globe
 Help produce water, food, and oxygen
 The well-being of societies, economies, and the
environment are all interdependent
 Ex: Fishing and shell-fishing – important in the generating
income, but over-harvesting or pollution of or surrounding
oceans can be devastating

3. Background
and History
 Martha’s Vineyard and its
surrounding area was shaped
by glaciers
 The Wampanoag tribes and
early settlers built around
bodies of water
 Source of nourishment -
fish and shellfish
 Travel and recreation
 Historic dependence on the
health and well being of our
aquatic ecosystems

4. The Legend of Moshup
 A giant, mystical being named
Moshup was responsible for
creating Martha’s Vineyard or
Noepe (“dry place”)
 Dragged his feet heavily as he
made his way to Noepe,
broadening the ocean and
creating a deeper divide
 Separated Noepe from the
mainland (the Vineyard Sound)
as an escape from the war on
the mainland

5. Our Aquifers
 “A layer of rock or sand that can absorb and hold water”
 Beneath Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven, and West Tisbury
 Smaller aquifers in Chilmark, West Tisbury, Aquinnah, and Chappaquidick
 Ground water is our only source replenishing the aquifers – EPA deemed it a
“soul source aquifer” in 1988

6. Watersheds of Martha’s Vineyard
 A watershed is an (unmarked) area that shows how rainwater percolates or runs
from areas of higher elevation to areas of lower elevation

7. Our Nitrogen
 Where does it come from?
 Golf courses, lawns, gardens, and farms – pesticides
used in fertilizers
 Septic tanks – concentrated amounts of urine produce
and excess of nitrogen
 Pollution – pollution from cars makes it’s way into the
water cycle through air and evaporation from the street

8. The Challenge:
Too Much Nitrogen
 Nitrogen = algae and
phytoplankton
 As phytoplankton and
algae increase they can
suffocate eelgrass and
reduce the amount of
sunlight is able to
penetrate the water
 Eelgrass provides a
habitat for scallops, blue
crabs, and many other
forms of marine wildlife

9. The Challenge:
Ocean Acidification
 Carbon pollution = ocean acidification
 The more carbon dioxide that is emitted into the air, the more CO2 that
dissolves into the ocean

10. The Challenge:
Ocean Acidification
 Pollution feeds algae blooms
 Bacteria feed on algae and use up oxygen while releasing an
excess of CO2
 CO2 interferes with calcium carbonate ions in salt water
 Harder for marine life to construct and maintain calcium-based shells
and exoskeletons
 Ex: lobsters, snails, shrimp

11. The Challenge:
Overfishing & Pollution
 Overfishing
 Combated by fishing seasons and size restrictions
 Ex: scallop season and harvesting size restrictions
 Pollution
 Seen with nitrogen and carbon dioxide
 Cycles: what goes up must come down

12. Martha’s Vineyard Commission
 A planning agency on the
Island with a mission to
“protect the unique ‘natural,
historical, ecological, scientific,
[and] cultural’ qualities of the
Vineyard”
 Works to monitor the aquifer
and watersheds
 Harbor management and water
quality monitoring
 Beaches, shoreline, and
coastal pond management

13. MVC in Collaboration with Others
 Coastal Ponds
 Coastal Ponds Overview Status Report
 MVC Island Plan
 Martha’s Vineyard Wastewater
Management Study
 Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance
 Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah) Natural Resources
Department
 Cape Cod Wastewater Management
Initiative
 Massachusetts Estuaries Project

14. Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
Natural Resources Department

15. Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group
 Seeks to “preserve and expand the Island’s traditional
shellfisheries”
 Shellfish include: quahogs, scallops, and oysters
 Works with all six towns to establish aquaculture rules and
regulations
 Legal size for harvesting shellfish – allows the species to naturally
replenish itself
 Shellfishing license
 Works to improve and maintain water quality

16. Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary
 194 acres of conservation land
 Preserves natural habitats and wildlife
 Conservation Projects:
 Promotes sustainability in the conservation of energy and
water, and by educating our community (summer camps and
partnership with island schools
 The Osprey Monitoring Program
 “Represent renewal and triumph over hardship”
 In 1969 there were only 2 pairs of nesting osprey on the
Vineyard
 Threatened by a pesticide DDT and a lack of nesting sites
 Once DDT was banned (in 1972) and nesting sites were
established (built poles and placed on telephone poles) the
species grew in number

17. BioDiversity Works
 Beach nesters – protecting and researching the Piping
plovers (federally protected, threatened species)
 Coastal river otters that have recently been inhabiting
the waters of Martha’s Vineyard

18. Vineyard Conservation Society
 VCS believes “that the health of our Island and its waters will
increasingly depend on an informed and mobilized public”
 Open Space Preservation
 Clean Water Initiative
 Vineyard Lawns Campaign
 Climate Change Adaptation
 Zero Waste Events

19. The Trustees of Reservation
 Cape Pogue, Long Point, Menemsha Hills, Mytoi
Japanese Garden, Norton Point, and Wasque
 Open conservation land up for public enjoyment

20. Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation
 Maintenance of native plant and wildlife communities
 Conservation of agricultural land

21. Watershed Organizations
 Dukes County Conservation Commission
 Friends of Sengekontacket
 Great Pond Foundation
 Lagoon Pond Association
 Oak Bluffs Conservation Commission
 Oak Bluffs Shellfish Department
 Squibnocket Pond District Advisory
 Tisbury Waterways, Inc.
 West Tisbury Conservation Commission

22. MVYLI’s
Ocean Sustainability Program
Secretary John Kerry’s Our Oceans Conference: 2014
 Sylvia Earle - a pioneer in the field of oceanography and marine biology author,
lecturer, explorer
 Sylvia is at the forefront of deep ocean exploration and is seen here at Our
Oceans Conference 2014
 Conference was a turning point for ocean conservation as leaders all over the world
announced commitments and plans for its protection

23. MVYLI’s
Ocean Sustainability Program
 10th Youth Leadership Summit Dedicated to Oceans

24. MVYLI’s
Oceans Sustainability Program
 Cronkite Awards 2014: Dr. Sylvia Earle & Sam Low

25. MVYLI’s Beach Clean Up
Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup
Vineyard Haven Harbor Beach

26. MVYLI’s Field Trip to WHOI
 We are the future and we must understand the importance of our
oceans, science, and engineering.

27. Other Projects
 Projects to improve knowledge of wildlife biology to effectively
manage resources and funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
o Bay Scallop Restoration Program
 Tribal fisherman rely on bay scallops for livelihood
 They now grow scallops, control predators, monitor water quality
and restore eelgrass
o Winter Flounder Restoration Program
 Winter flounder has declined
 Used tribal hatchery to spawn growth of flounder
 Cooperative effort from tribal members, Duke’s County
Fisherman’s Association and the University of New Hampshire

28. MVYLI Field Trip to WHOI
They rolled out the Red Carpet for us!
 Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL)
Marine Resources Center
The Ecosystems Center
 NOAA Fisheries
National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration
 WHOI’s Deep Submergence Lab
DVS Alvin & R/V Knorr
 Woods Hole Aquarium

29. Martha’s Vineyard Hope Spots

30. Ocean Day
The Institute’s 11th Annual
Youth Leadership Summit
for Sustainable Development
Our Faculty
Dr. Sylvia Earle (via skype) Dr. Sarah Oktay, Nantucket Field Station
Presentations on Island Best Practices
MV West Tisbury School: Straw Free MV
Hawaii: Windward, Oahu
Hawaii: Waimea, Hawaii Island
MVYLI Ocean Sustainability-In-Action Projects
Global Blue Sustainability Projects: Worldwide Voyage with Hokulea (via skype/Google Hangout)
Workgroups: Islands = Sustainability in Action Projects
Pathways Ocean Art Project

31. MVYLI’s Ocean Literary
Education Campaign 2015-2016
1. Produce 5 minute educational video
2. Educational Outreach Campaign
 • MVRHS Library Hosts School Assembly
 • Training using video & NOAA curriculum
 • Premiere event with seasonal residents
3. Ocean Literary Education Campaign
 • MVYLI youth show video at K-12 schools
4. MVRHS Science Fair Projects
 • MVYLI video presentation
 • Outcomes: WHOI judge (s) + Science Projects

32. What can we do?
 Join Beach Clean Ups
 Volunteer with these organizations
 Internships & Summer Jobs
 Learn about science:
 Become a STEM Champion!
 Visit Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution