Committed to the conservation, enhancement and stewardship of habitat across Newfoundland and Labrador

The Towns of Bay Roberts and Spaniard’s Bay were both identified as having critical wetland habitats within their municipal boundaries - the Shearstown Estuary is a productive wetland habitat located directly between the two Towns. An estuary is a transitional zone between a river and the ocean. They are typically semi-enclosed, coastal basins that receive water from both fresh and salt water sources. Shearstown Pond, Arnie's Pond and the innermost portion of Spaniard's Bay are all part of the Shearstown Estuary. While there are many locations in Newfoundland where rivers flow into the ocean, very few are true estuaries. With the signing of their Municipal Habitat Conservation Agreement, the Towns of Bay Roberts and Spaniard's Bay designated the Shearstown Estuary as a Conservation Area.

​

Many people are becoming increasingly more aware of our significant impact on these fragile ecosystems. Estuaries are typically the most biologically productive environments of the oceans. They are usually relatively shallow, allowing better photosynthesis, and nutrient-rich from land run-off. Tidal action in an unaltered estuary typically maintains well-oxygenated waters within the estuary. Estuaries are home to a great diversity of organisms with different life cycles. Some species are totally estuarine, some live in estuaries as juveniles, and others seasonally migrate in and out of estuaries. Hence, human influence on estuaries has the potential to affect the diversity of life in the open oceans as well as coastal organisms and productivity.

​

The Shearstown Estuary is abundant with life - it serves as migration, feeding and over-wintering habitat for sea-run Brook (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Brown (Salmo trutta) Trout, as well as a small run of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). Other freshwater fish species can be found throughout, including American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) and Three-spine Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), and several marine fish species occur at the mouth of the estuary, such as flatfish (Pleuronectoidei sp.) and Capelin (Mallotus villosus). The Estuary is a popular sight for birders hoping to catch sight of some rarer birds that use the area along their migration. Waterfowl flocks consisting of American Black Duck (Anas rubripes), and occasionally Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis), Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), occur in the region. Seabirds, including Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis), and Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and shorebirds, including Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla), Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) and Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) are also known to visit the Estuary. Songbirds are frequently found amongst the trees in the region, including Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata), Black-Capped Chickadees (Parus atricapillus), American Robins (Turdus migratorius), and Northern Junco (Junco hyemalis).