Aboard the R/V Baykeeper with Captain Casey Allen

The winds were blowing at about 10 knots, the sky was overcast, and R/V Baykeeper Captain Casey Allen had been out late the night before fishing for Striper. But that was no excuse for the Captain to skip a day collecting water quality samples for the Coalition. Coffee in hand, Allen was ready to start the day doing what he loves most – being out on the water and working for the Coalition.

Allen grew up on Buzzards Bay, owned his first boat at age 13 and spent six years working as a lobster fisherman off West Island and Vineyard Sound. His love for the ocean and his boating experience in Buzzards Bay made him an ideal candidate to captain the Coalition’s 27-foot R/V Baykeeper, which is used as a platform to conduct water quality monitoring at various sampling sites throughout the Bay, as well as provide sewage pump-out service to boaters at Cuttyhunk Island. Since mid-June, Allen has been helping the Coalition collect valuable data used to determine the health of the Bay and helping to reduce pollution caused by boat waste.

Although the Coalition’s Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Program, called Baywatchers, involves about 140 volunteers that collect water samples from sites around Buzzards Bay, the R/V Baykeeper allows the Coalition to sample offshore sites, reachable only by boat.

Allen prefers to depart from the Fairhaven Shipyard and Marina at 6:30 a.m. to ensure he’s finished sampling by 9 a.m. That’s because one of the most important parameters Allen tests for is dissolved oxygen, which is the amount of oxygen present in the water. Just like humans, all of the Bay's living organisms need oxygen to survive. Oxygen gets into water by diffusion from the surrounding air, by aeration (rapid movement), and as a product of photosynthesis.

At night, when photosynthesis does not occur, oxygen concentrations may become reduced. Dissolved oxygen is typically lowest between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. before photosynthesis makes up for the nighttime oxygen demand.

“I’m learning today that you really have to plan ahead. This weather and these waves are going to slow us down, so we may not reach all of our sampling sites,” Allen advised.

On a good day, Allen samples at nine different sites within each of the following harbors: Marks Cove, Weweantic River, Wareham River, Aucoot Cove, and Hiller Cove. The furthest sampling location in the Wareham River is about an hour from the marina.

Finding the way to each of the sampling locations is a cinch with a Raymarine GPS on board. Allen pays close attention to the GPS when navigating to and from sampling locations, as it pinpoints navigational hazards, such as rocks and other obstacles, and accurately displays water depth. Water quality sampling sites are indicated on the screen by a bold red X, while a teardrop-shape indicates the Baykeeper.

“When it’s calm, it’s much easier to sample. On a day like this, when it’s windy and you’re battling the elements, you have to keep adjusting the boat to stay where you want to be,” Allen said.

Keeping a close eye on the GPS screen, Allen carefully maneuvers the boat to keep it positioned on the sampling site. Jared Dourdeville, a volunteer from Marion, lowers a Secchi disk into the water until it can no longer be seen. He records the depth at which it disappears – an indicator of water clarity. Next, he lowers a YSI sonde into the water to collect data, such as salinity, chlorophyll, pH, and water temperature – basic parameters that provide an immediate snapshot of the health of the bay and are an excellent first warning system. This same data is collected at all nine sampling locations.

As an avid fisherman, Allen understands why it’s critical to monitor the health of the Bay’s waters.

“The cleaner the waters, the healthier the marine life, and that’s good for fishermen and those who like to be in and on the ocean,” he said. “I like to reach out to people and make them aware of what’s going on in the Bay. I think that the more people that become aware, the more they will take care of it.”