Great South Bay Oyster Project

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Habitat Restoration

Oyster Project Logo - Great South Bay

Habitat Restoration

Oysters eat murky water for lunch. If we bring them back in volume, they’ll clean the bay better and faster than any human can.

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

Save The Great South Bay works closely with oyster growers on The South Shore. We seek to implement new techniques for the reintroduction of oysters such as we see being undertaken in The Chesapeake, or through New York City’s Billion Oyster Project, or closer to home, with Friends of Bellport Bay. Given the value of oysters today, there is also a lot of innovation around how best to grow them.

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

The Making Of An Oyster Sanctuary

Part One Of Three
Site Evaluation
Part Two Of Three
Establishing the Sanctuary
Part Three Of Three
Enhancing and Measuring for Success
Recent planting in the Great South Bay Oyster Sanctuary 07/2023

Recent Progress On Habitat Restoration

Here’s what we’ve recently been up to. Your participation could look like one of these updates, or – if you can’t dive in there and get dirty yourself, just support the project and we’ll find a way to do it. Everyone has a part in this shared cause.
Endangered Species Day: Horseshoe Crabs

Endangered Species Day: Horseshoe Crabs

In honor of Endangered Species Day, we welcome world expert John T. Tanacredi as a guest blogger on the perilous future of horseshoe crabs, as seen in the May 20, 2021 edition of the Babylon Beacon. Horseshoe crabs need special protections as they face extinction For...

Bay Friendly Yards: Creating Wildlife Habitat

Bay Friendly Yards: Creating Wildlife Habitat

The typical suburban yard lacks the basic necessities of wildlife habitat, devoid of birds, butterflies and other delightful creatures. These creatures are not only an essential part of local ecosystems but also provide an amazing nature show! What does a butterfly...

Sayville Creeks as Classrooms

Sayville Creeks as Classrooms

Collaboration and support. And love for the Great South Bay! That's what our Sayville team up between Save the Great South Bay's Bayport (Bob Draffin) and Sayville (James Bertsch) Creek Defenders was made of. Adults saved trees. Kids got the knowledge and experience...

Sustainable Development In Our Neighborhoods

Sustainable Development In Our Neighborhoods

The word is out. What so many of us love most about Long Island, from its recreational opportunities such as biking, fishing, kayaking and more, to its easy access to shopping and services, continues to attract people to the Island, making development unavoidable. No...

The State of the Great South Bay

The State of the Great South Bay

People often ask how is the Great South Bay doing? Til now, it's been a rhetorical question for the vast majority of us. One of our organization's 2020 goals was to connect with the scientists who collect data in the Great South Bay. Each piece of data is part of the...

A Peek Beneath The Surface

A Peek Beneath The Surface

Today we welcomed Prof. (emeritus) Roger Flood of Stony Brook's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SOMAS) to discuss his work on side-scan sonar and multi-beam bottom mapping in the Great South Bay. Prof. Flood provided historical context of bay bottom...

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