Free of reptiles, amphibians, and terrestrial mammals other than humans, bats, snowshoe hares, and muskrats, and surrounded by kelp forests rich with fishes and shellfishes, and plankton, Kent Island is a major stopover and feeding point for tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds. Since the 1930's, ornithologists and other scientists have operated the prestigious Bowdoin Scientific Station, one of the world's most important bird research stations, on Kent Island. At least two hundred species of birds have been identified living on this island. Despite pressure from the industry, the Province of New Brunswick has turned down the proposal for aquaculture leases in the waters around Kent Island and elsewhere in the Grand Manan archipelago as part of a broader Bay of Fundy Marine Aquaculture Site Allocation Policy. In addition to the waters around Kent Island, for example, two MORE proposed aquaculture sites are proposed off White Head Island - close to Kent Island.
Harlequin ducks are very site specific.
With estimated numbers of less than 1000 in the eastern population all efforts need to be made to protect these small ducks. Human disturbance was identified as one of the factors contributing to the decline of this species in the Harlequin Duck Recovery Plan released in 1995. Unless assurances can be made that these aquaculture sites will not limit the recovery of these species, it was stated by many, the province of New Brunswick would be negligent in granting their approval. Scientists using the Bowdoin Science station strongly opposed the proposal as potentially disastrous to the migratory seabirds, for whose protection, during their critical nesting phase, the facility was first created in 1935. The six and one half decades of baseline research on these animals in their non-degraded wild environment would be brought to a sudden halt, as species are driven away by the motorized human activity, or are supplanted by herring gulls and other common birds that are attracted to fishpen operations.