Treasure on Cashes Ledge: an ocean refuge in need of protection.

PositionOCEAN TREASURE

"I've honestly never seen anything quite like this place; a truly unique ecosystem with acres of thick, healthy kelp."

--Brian Skerry, renowned photojournalist and New England Ocean Odyssey Photographer

New England is as famous for its coastline as for its fish--but what lies beneath New England's waves goes largely unseen and unremembered. One of these unknown treasures is Cashes Ledge, a 25-mile long underwater mountain range which lies 80 miles off the coasts of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire and shelters one of the most distinctive marine ecosystems in the Atlantic. But Cashes Ledge is as sensitive to human interference as it is important to ecological diversity. With limited protection against increasingly destructive fishing techniques, Cashes Ledge remains vulnerable.

ATLANTIC RICHES

Cashes Ledge hosts a remarkable diversity of marine life, from the Atlantic wotffish and rare blue sponge to the unusual red cod. The reason for such diversity lies in the mountain range itself, whose pinnacles interrupt the primary Gulf of Maine current and create a stunning oceanographic phenomenon known as internal waves, which carry high levels of nutrients and oxygen from the sea surface to the sea floor. This unusual circulation pattern results in an incredibly productive and diverse ecosystem. Cashes Ledge boasts the deepest cold water kelp forest in the Gulf of Maine and possibly the North Atlantic and has a rich array of invertebrates including sea anemones; bright orange, red, yellow and blue sponges; horse mussels; sea stars; brittle and feather stars; sea squirts; worms and northern shrimp. Atlantic bluefin tuna can be found pursuing herring on Cashes Ledge and blue sharks are common during the warm summer months. Humpback and Northern right whales often stop off to feed on the abundant supply of plankton. Cashes Ledge is also rich in a variety of groundfish including Atlantic cod, white hake, monkfish, haddock and redfish. A variety of offshore sea birds can be found dining at Cashes, such as sooty shearwaters and Wilson's storm-petrels.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cashes Ledge is also a rarity in New England waters. Though the ledge's jagged, rocky formation has protected this particular habitat from significant human interference, other areas in the Gulf of Maine have not been so lucky. Cashes Ledge is unique in the greater Gulf of Maine system because its mountains shield one of the few remaining examples of what an undisturbed and...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT