Great South Bay Oyster Project
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Recent Progress
Volunteer
Habitat Restoration
Habitat Restoration
We advocate for healing the creeks that feed our bay, for bay-friendly yards, for helping to return a shellfishing industry to the Great South Bay, and for the deployment of modern wastewater treatment technologies to address the problems caused by 500,000 cesspools and septic tanks, as well as the 197 large scale septic systems in malls, apartment complexes and locally.
Volunteer
Lend a hand! Join our Oyster Project Team and help revive The Great South Bay.
Partnering With Oyster Growers
Of course, nothing happens without cleaner water. That is why getting rid of our cesspools and septic tanks, healing our creeks, tackling runoff, and practicing natural lawn care is so important.
Please contact us with any suggestions you may have. You can also donate our efforts. We want to apply the latest techniques in aquaculture to revitalize our bay, our economy and our local culture.
We advocate for healing the creeks that feed our bay, for bay-friendly yards, for helping to return a shell fishing industry to the Great South Bay, and for the deployment of modern wastewater treatment technologies to address the problems caused by 500,000 cesspools and septic tanks, as well as the 197 large scale septic systems in malls, apartment complexes and locally.
Where You Can Get Fresh, Long Island Blue Point Oysters
- Neguntatogue Oysters (Lindenhurst) – call or text Keith & Nicole at 631-275-8046
- Blue Island Oysters (Sayville)- Call Chris at (631) 563-1330 for availability
- Maris Stella Oysters (Captree) – call or text Sixto at 516-939-5545
- Little A’s (Bay Shore) – call or text Michael at 917-526-1900
- Red Tiger (West Islip) – call or text Lou at 646-228-6273
The Making Of An Oyster Sanctuary
Site Evaluation
Establishing the Sanctuary
Enhancing and Measuring for Success
Photo Gallery
Recent Progress On Habitat Restoration
19 Nassau Beaches Closed Including Island Park, But the Charter Fishing Continues
A charter fishing boat out by the OUTFALL pipe of The Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, and during a week when the surrounding beaches are closed because of contaminated runoff.
From Newsday 6-08-13 — Carl LoBue and Christopher Gobler Weigh in On Algal Blooms This Spring and How the Breach Is (Thus Far) Sparing The Great South Bay From Brown Tide
The dreaded brown tide is back in some South Shore bays, threatening everything from eelgrass to scallops, but Great South Bay has been spared so far thanks to superstorm Sandy, a marine scientist said Friday.
WYNC Interviews Carl LoBue and Nancy Kelley of The Nature Conservancy on Water Quality and Importance of Restoring Clamming In The Great South Bay
Summer is right around the corner, which means many of us will head out to Long Island for clams bakes and time on the beach. But there’s a problem lurking in the waters around the Great South Bay. According to studies from The Nature Conservancy, excessive nitrogen is polluting the waterways.
“We have these symptoms in many places, either harmful algal blooms, some of which are actually toxic to fish and wildlife, some of which are toxic to people,” said Carl LoBue, The Nature Conservancy’s senior marine scientist on Long Island. “So that actually has a big impact on which fish enter our bays, which fish are healthy to eat. And then in some places, like Western Long Island Sound where the water is deep, we get hypoxic dead zones, like you might hear about in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Shellfish Bed Closings Throughout Long Island — Again, and Thoroughly Predictable Because Our Ground Water is Filthy With Septic Tank Seepage, Lawn Fertilizer and Storm Run Off
1. Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay (south shore): All that area of Hempstead Bay, East Bay and South Oyster Bay and their tributaries.
2. Town of North Hempstead: All that area of Hempstead Harbor lying southerly of a line extending northeasterly from Prospect Point to Matinecock Point.
3. Town of Oyster Bay (north shore): All of Hempstead Harbor, Oyster Bay Harbor and all of Cold Spring Harbor lying southerly of a line extending easterly from the stone house on Plum Point (Centre Island) to the northerly side of the beach pavilion at West Neck Beach (Town of Huntington) on the eastern shore of Cold Spring Harbor.
4. Towns of Babylon and Islip: All that area of Great South Bay and its tributaries lying westerly of the northbound span of the Robert Moses Twin Causeway bridges.
5. Towns of Islip and Brookhaven (south shore): All that area of northern Great South Bay, including Nicoll Bay and Patchogue Bay, lying northerly of a line* extending easterly from the southern base of the northbound span of the Robert Moses Causeway (north side of Captree Island) to Buoy R “6” Fl R 4s (West Channel) to Buoy R “4” Fl R 2.5s (south of Nicoll Point) to Buoy GR “EN” Fl (2+1) G 6s (Nicoll Bay) to Buoy R N “30” (south of Green Point) through Buoys R N “32”, R “34” FL R 2.5s and G “35” Fl G 4s (south of Blue Point) to Buoy R A36″ Fl R 6s (south of Swan River) to Buoy G C A37″ to Buoy G “1” Fl G 2.5s (south of Howells Point) thence proceeding southeasterly from buoy G “1” Fl G 2.5s to the flag tower at Bellport Beach (located on the barrier beach, Fire Island). (*Also known as the East-West Buoy Line)
6. Town of Brookhaven (south shore): All of Bellport Bay lying easterly of a line extending southerly from Howells Point through Buoy G “1” Fl G 2.5s, thence proceeding southeasterly to the flag tower at Bellport Beach; and, all of Moriches Bay and its tributaries.
7. Town of Brookhaven (north shore): All of Stony Brook Harbor, Port Jefferson Harbor and Mount Sinai Harbor.
8. Town of Huntington: All of Northport Bay, Duck Island Harbor, Centerport Harbor, Lloyd Harbor; and, all that area of Huntington Bay lying southerly of a line extending easterly from the southernmost point of East Beach (at the north side of the mouth of Lloyd Harbor) to the southernmost point of West Beach (the southern tip of Sand City beach); AND, all that area of Cold Spring Harbor, lying southerly of a line extending easterly from the stone house on Plum Point (Centre Island) to the northerly side of the beach pavilion at the Town of Huntington West Neck Beach on the eastern shore of Cold Spring Harbor.
9. Town of Smithtown: All that area of Stony Brook Harbor and its tributaries.
10. Town of Riverhead: All that area of Flanders Bay and its tributaries.
11. Town of Southampton: All that area of Flanders Bay, Moriches Bay, Quantuck Bay, Quantuck Canal and Shinnecock Bay and all other creeks, bay, harbors, coves and tributaries within the Town of Southampton.
12. Town of East Hampton: All that area of Northwest Harbor, Three Mile Harbor, Accabonac Harbor, Napeague Harbor, Lake Montauk and all other creeks, bay, harbors, coves and tributaries within the Town of East Hampton.
13. Town of Shelter Island: All that area of Coecles Harbor, Dering Harbor, West Neck Harbor, Northwest Harbor and all the creeks, bay, harbors, coves and tributaries within the Town of Shelter Island.
14. Town of Southold: All that area of Cutchogue Harbor, Pipes Cove, Orient Harbor, Hallock (Long Beach) Bay, Hay Harbor, West Harbor and East Harbor on Fishers Island; and, all other creeks, bay, harbors, coves and tributaries within the Town of Southold.
The Breach Report 6-11-13
With the twice daily flushing of Bellport Bay from the tides and The New Inlet, we are seeing bay bottom hidden for decades, flounder, bluefish, weakfish. And unlike Shinnecock and Moriches Bay, which don’t properly flush, and where nitrogen pollution from septic tanks, lawn fertilizers and farms gathers to feed algal blooms, and with increasing intensity year by year, we have thus far seen NO BROWN TIDES.
SCERP Cities Brown Tides in Moriches, Quantuck and Shinnecock, but None in The Great South Bay, Perhaps Because of The New Inlet
*Brown tide emerges in Moriches, Quantuck, and Shinnecock Bay, but not in Great South Bay; Presence of new ocean inlet in Great South Bay may help keep brown tide in check*