This year, MVPC’s Environmental Program hosted a Trails and Sails event! Trails and Sails is a free ten-day event series (9/15-9/24) put on by Essex Heritage. Community groups and organizations host different programs as part of the series to build awareness about the many natural, cultural and historic resources across Essex County.   

This year, MVPC through their partnership with MassBays collaborated with Maritime Gloucester to host an event focused on marine invasive species: It’s a Hard Dock Life: Finding and Identifying Marine Invasive Species! The event was held on Saturday, September 23rd at the Harriet Webster Pier (23 Harbor Loop) in Gloucester, MA.   

The public was encouraged to pull up dock lines and see what marine creatures we could find!  Using magnifying glasses, microscopes, and identification cards, participants discovered as many marine invasive creatures as they could find. Collectively, we were able to find 13 of the 18 common invasive species we typically monitor for. Some highlights include the European Seq Squirt, and Club Tunicate! Take a look at the Marine Invasive Species Bingo sheet to see what marine invasive species you can recognize.  

The search to find and document marine invasives is part of a regional effort coordinated by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). Through an extensive volunteer network, over 140 sites from Maine to Rhode Island have been monitored since 2006. To learn more about the Marine Invasive Monitoring and Information Collaborative (MIMIC), check out their website: Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative (MIMIC) | Mass.gov