The POINT in cleaning up Fort Point Channel

     From crabs to pigeons, the Fort Point Channel is home to wildlife of all kinds. Located in the Back Bay and Boston Seaport area, it is home to historical events such as the Boston Tea Party and many historical ships. Seaport is also known for its booming art facilities where aspiring artist have displayed their work. The area is filled with fishermen on the docks, runners near the water and docking boats such as the Roseway, a historic wartime ship used in World War II. During my time at Fort Point Channel, I was able to catch crabs, explore with underwater drones, and witness all the wildlife in the area. Being able to see the wildlife opened my awareness of what we are disposing of in the water and how it affects the organisms living there such as jellyfish, crabs, fish, and clams. While working with the drones, I saw the underwater terrain and how it was accompanied by trash of all kinds; plastic bags, bottles, needles, and much more. On the docks, I was able to meet a group of men who were fishing out trash in boats on the water and there were over two trash bins of trash that they only had collected that morning. The reason why there is so much wildlife in the water is because of the efforts of people who actively clean the area, without them, trash would either be eaten by the wildlife, cause injuries or deplete their food resources.
    In past years, the Boston Harbor, nicknamed the Harbor of shame, has made great strides over 30 years after sewage and industrial waste was continually dumped in the waters. Through policy and lawyers advocates, their voices were heard in the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusettes and in Federal Court. It became a 20 million dollar investment and by 2016 the Boston Harbor was declared "substantially complete" and is now one of the cleanest harbors in the world. Although the Harbor is clean much work can be done, there is still a substantial amount of plastic and waste that can harm the marine wildlife. In addition, Bostons' waters such as the Charles River are in dire need of attention with the toxic algae outbreaks and much more. This experience has opened my eyes to pay closer attention to my surroundings and how my actions such as throwing away a bottle can benefit the organisms that live there.

Sea you later!

Regina

The Roseway on the docks of Seaport.

A spider crab was caught in our trap.