About the Presentation

Cashes Ledge is a submerged 32-mile-long mountain-range complex located in the central Gulf of Maine, approximately 80 miles off Massachusetts and about 100 miles south of the Maine coast. Ammen Rock sits at the peak of the Cashes mountain range and is just 27 feet below the surface at low tide. Here the sugar kelp forest is the deepest and densest on the eastern seaboard and teems with schools of cod, pollack, and cunner. Here wolf fish hunt lobsters and crabs in rocky crevices. Here sea anemones, marine sponges, beds of horse mussels, sea stars, and sea squirts abound. Globally famous marine scientist Sylvia Earle, after diving over Ammen Rock, came away saying it was, “The Yellowstone of the North Atlantic.”

Ocean researchers have long considered this remote region, with ledges, ridges, and surrounding deep water basins – an oceanic gem. University of Maine marine scientist Dr. Robert Steneck, spent years studying the ledge’s benthic species and describes it as, “The Lost World.”  This massive range of ridges creates upwellings of cold nutrient-rich water that fuel an explosion of plankton, that feed herring, squid, and mackerel, who in turn are prey for tuna, sharks, seabirds, and a high diversity of marine mammals.

On July 29^th, 2024, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) submitted the nomination for Cashes Ledge to be considered for national marine sanctuary status. The nomination was submitted to the Sanctuaries program for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and would provide greater protection for a 766-square-mile site encompassing Cashes Ledge, Parker Ridge, and Sigsbee Ridge.

About the Presenter

Naturalist and marine conservationist Zack Klyver has been chartering vessels from Bar Harbor to take the public to visit the waters over Cashes Ledge. He will discuss the marine ecology of Cashes Ledge and the oceanography that makes it an immensely productive area. Likewise, he will discuss his efforts and opportunities for GOMMEA to educate the public about this incredible and exceptional Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem.