Great South Bay Oyster Project
Photo Gallery
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.
VolunteerÂ
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
Tropical Storm Andrea Will Bring Winds and Rain to LI
We at the Save the Great South Bay know that residents along the South Shore of Long Island are vulnerable and nervous every time a named storm comes our way. That’s why it is important to be ready and aware of what to expect. Tropical Storm Andrea will be more of a wind driven tropical rain event than a flooding event according to the National Weather Service. This tropical low pressure system will pass to our south and east and track northeast. With it, it will bring torrential rains, thunderstorms, wind and heavy surf. The winds around a low pressure system rotate inward toward the central point of low pressure counterclockwise. That is why with a storm track like Andrea’s, winds will go from South, to SE, to East, then Northeast as it departs our region North eastward. The worst of the winds will be from Friday night to Saturday morning. Winds will be mostly out of the east during this time and turn toward the west into Saturday. Residents along the South Shore prone to coastal flooding can expect the worst of the storm Friday night into Saturday morning for the New Moon astronomical tide.
Update: Save The Great South Bay CORRECTLY Predicts: Widespread Beach Closings Throughout Long Island in the Wake of Tropical Storm Andrea
You really don’t need a crystal ball for this prediction: Tropical Storm Andrea will dump up to three inches of rain on Long Island Friday into Saturday. That rain will in turn wash septic water into our rivers, streams, ponds, and bays, and with that will force the closure of a number of Long Island beaches over this coming weekend. These days, a good downpour brings many millions of gallons of contaminated, septic water from the land to the water. With over 100,000 septic tanks in Suffolk County, when it rains our waters suffer. The bacteria counts explode and our beaches become hazards. The water literally becomes dangerous to be in. So as night follows day, a heavy rain will close the beaches. The same thing happened on Memorial Day Weekend. Heavy rains, it was reported, closed the following beaches:
Meet a Clam Digger – Steve Kuhn
Via Andrew Kozak, a graduating senior at Stony Brook University. His senior project concerned the collapse of the clamming population in The Great South Bay, and with it a way of life. His project may be viewed at www.longislandclams.com.
Fixing The Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant
Until we rebuild the plant, and as Kohler says, Do It Right, it will continue to be by far the major source of nitrogenous pollution in The Western Bays. Even when the plant was ‘operational’ 85% of it was coming from Bay Park. Merely getting the plant back to where it was is unacceptable. While there is funding to rebuild the plant itself — and they can’t start soon enough — additional federal funds are needed to modernize the facility and build an outfall pipe that would have treated waste water flow miles out into the ocean. Long Beach would also benefit because it could use the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant as well. Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano has called for $500 million from the federal government to modernize the facility.
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Throughout LI This May — Bad and Worse To Come?
The conclusions from SCERP (The Stonybrook Southampton Estuarine Research Program) are clear. We are reaping the harvest of having no sewer system in Suffolk, and 100,000+ septic tanks leeching nitrogen into the groundwater for the past 40 years. All indicator are this is going to get much much worse unless we can figure out how to get all that excess nitrogen out of the aquifer, and out of our rivers, ponds and bays, and replace our septic tanks with an eco friendly solution. We need to think big and be ready to act on those plans, or its game over.
The Environmental Defense Fund Weighs In On The Legality of Closing The Old Inlet / Breach
Last month, Jim Tripp of the The Environmental Defense Fund drafted a letter addressed to The Department of Interior, The National Parks Service, The Fire Island National Seashore, The Army Corps of Engineers, and The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. In it, he argues that The Breach Contingency Plan, adopted in 1996, extended in 2001 for another five years, then on the books but overdue for revision since 2007, must be interpreted in light of previous documents pertaining to the protection of wilderness areas, and that before any action is taken to close The Old Inlet, the following would by law have to happen: