A coral reef off Bourne? Maritime students have an idea about what to name it

Paul Gately
·3 min read

BUZZARDS BAY — A coral reef discovered by Massachusetts Maritime Academy students during studies with professor Gary Jaroslow may be named in his honor.

The Bourne Select Board and the Barnstable County administrator is being asked to help name the newly discovered reef at Gibbs Narrows, which divides Little Buttermilk Bay from the larger Buttermilk Bay in the Head of the Bay region bordering Wareham.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy officials have asked the federal government to name the reef in memory of Jaroslow, a professor at the school, whose students discovered the coral structure during their off-campus class studies. Jaroslow died in 2017.

A coral reef in Gibbs Narrows in Bourne may be named for Gary Jaroslow, a professor at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne who died in 2017. Jaroslow's students discovered the reef during their studies with him, in the months before his death.
A coral reef in Gibbs Narrows in Bourne may be named for Gary Jaroslow, a professor at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne who died in 2017. Jaroslow's students discovered the reef during their studies with him, in the months before his death.

In February and May email messages to the Select Board and Barnstable County Administrator Elizabeth Albert, research assistant Matt O’Donnell of the U.S. Board of Geographic Names said the agency would like to hear back from the town and county by July 27.

Otherwise, he noted, no response will be considered “no opinion” and the federal board will decide on a name that could potentially affect the names of other local areas.

The Select Board on June 7 unanimously approved the Jaroslow Reef naming with no public discussion or explanation related to the discovery.

What has been the advice of local experts?

If approved, the named reef will be added to nautical charts, marking the geological reach of two bays where navigable calculations are a must. Bourne Harbormaster Chris Southwood, in a May interview, said the university's naming request is reasonable. From a wider perspective, Southwood said, the reef is extremely shallow and should be marked and named.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration similarly has no objections with naming the reef, O’Donnell told the Select Board. Gina Anderson, a public affairs specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey, stressed the county has until July 27 to respond.

William Hubbard, a professor of marine ecology at the university, anticipates reef naming by autumn. He said in 2017 and 2018 the university's marine science, safety and environmental protection program seniors were studying the freshwater seeps in upper Little Buttermilk Bay and discovered the coral reef.

The newly discovered reef involves 2.5 acres of Northern Coral

The reef encompasses 2 1/2 acres about one-half mile east of Hideaway Village at the tip of Lewis Point north of the Cape Cod Canal. “It is a concentration of Northern stone coral,Astrangia poculata, built up over the decades,” Hubbard said. “Very unique in such a shallow upper estuary environment.”

He said the bay work was part of a senior year environmental monitoring class.

In 2015: Slipper shells' growth in Buzzards Bay puzzles researchers

“The students wanted to honor Dr. Jaroslow since he passed during their senior year,” Hubbard said. It typically takes five years after a death for a federal naming to occur, he said. The naming process is continuing with no opposition identified to date.

Hubbard submitted the naming proposal to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which is responsible by law for standardizing geographic names for use by the federal government. The agency votes on proposals after getting recommendations from appropriate local, state, federal, and tribal stakeholders, O’Donnell said.

Reef name would honor late researcher and teacher

In the months before his death Jaroslow and his students found this “unique reef structure seldom found in New England waters,” according to O'Donnell in his initial email to the town. “And that they wish to name the feature after him due to his impact as a teacher and researcher that he had on his students.

“A recommendation either in support or in opposition" would help the federal agency understand the local opinion about the name, O’Donnell noted. The agency will review all responses and vote on the issue “in a timely manner,” he wrote.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Coral reef off Bourne may be named for maritime school professor