Miramichi Bay is an estuary located on the west coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, at the mouth of the Miramichi River. Miramichi Bay is separated into the "inner bay" and the "outer bay", with the division being a line of uninhabited barrier islands which are continually reshaped by ocean storms. The largest of these islands is the uninhabited Portage Island, which was broken in two during a violent storm in the 1950s. The islands provide some protection to the inner bay from ocean storms in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Overview
Miramichi Bay is one of the largest bays along the northeastern coast of New Brunswick, Canada. The Maritime Plain, an area of low-relief extending from Chaleur Bay southward to Cape George, surrounds it. The Bay is a triangular shape, and approximately 45 km along the north and south coasts, and 32 km along the seaward end, making its surface area greater than 300 km<sup>2</sup>.
Recreational uses
Recreational uses in Miramichi Bay include windsurfing, boating, kayaking
Climate
The climate of Miramichi Bay is constituted as continental. As air mass moves from west to east from the Pacific to the Atlantic we see an average annual air temperature around 4.3 degrees Celsius. Precipitation is regular in this area, averaging about 160 days within the year and totaling around 995 mm. Water temperatures reach a maximum of 22 degrees Celsius during July and August, and freezing during November to December.
Marine ecosystem
Marine life
Marine life includes harbour seals, herring gulls, the common tern (pictars to use the old Scottish word), the great blue heron (commonly called "crane" in the Miramichi), the common loon, and cormorants (called "black shag" locally), with kingfishers, plovers, snipe and killdeer along the shore. Fish living within the estuary that may commonly be fished for recreation also include cod, eel, striped bass, Atlantic salmon, and brook trout. Along the inner bay you may commonly find juvenile and adult lobster, and in the outer bay you will find crab, who are restricted to the deeper water.