WINTER RIVER - TRACADIE BAY WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
Supporting The Watershed,
So It Can Support You
Microplastics Project
The Winter River - Tracadie Bay Watershed Association was one of two watersheds (the second being Bedeque Bay Environmental Management) that has started microplastic sampling here on Prince Edward Island with the 2021 field season being the first year.
Shoreline Samples
In order to take microplastic samples from the shoreline, the beach was divided into transects. Crew members then filled a 5-gallon bucket halfway by scooping the top 5 centimeters of the transect, everything including sand, debris, and organic material. The remaining space in the bucket was filled with water. Everything was mixed by hand to allow any plastics in the sample to float to the top and the water was then poured through a sieve measuring 335 μm. This process was done three times per sample. The sample was then rinsed off with water and placed inside a glass jar with a cap full of hydrogen peroxide.
​There were 4 sites chosen for the shoreline microplastic sampling and these locations were referred to as Queen’s Point, Old Bedford Road, Black Bush, and Corran Ban Bridge. At each site, samples were taken at the high-tide line as this is the most probable area where plastics would be located.
Water Samples
In order to retrieve the microplastic samples from the water, a LADI trawl was used. With the help of a building manual, the Coordinator along with a volunteer constructed the LADI during the 2021 winter months.
​A total of 6 sampling sites were chosen for microplastic sampling using the trawl; these locations were referred to as Winter Bay, North End of Tracadie Bay, Old Bedford Road Beach, South End of Tracadie Bay, Offshore, and Winter River. Each location had 3 separate tracks and each track, measured out to be around 2km, was travelled twice for a total of 6 trawls per location. Each trawl took roughly 20 minutes with the speed of the boat going no more than 5 knots. After every trawl, the LADI was taken out of the water and the cod-end was removed and cleaned out into a 335 μm sieve. Similar to cleaning samples from the shoreline microplastic sampling, Gatorade bottles were used to rinse the sample until no dirt/sand remained then the sample was transferred into a jar with a cap full of hydrogen peroxide to be sent away for testing.
