State officials reopen Hempstead Harbor to shellfishing - News12 Long Island (June 2011)

Citing the positive results of sanitary surveys, water quality monitoring and shellfish tissue testing, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), on June 1, reopened approximately 2,500 acres of shellfish beds for shellfish harvesting in outer Hempstead Harbor and Long Island Sound. This marks the first time that shellfish can be legally harvested in the harbor in over 40 years.

In 2008, as part of the effort to restore the harbor for shellfish harvesting, Long Island Sound Study (LISS) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided funding through the Sound Futures Fund for a comprehensive underwater environment survey, and tested the viability and subsequent broadcast seeding of 1.1 million juvenile shellfish that will one day be harvested.

"The reopening of these shellfish beds is a true testament of what dedicated stakeholders can achieve," said Larissa Graham, NYSG's Long Island Sound Study Outreach Coordinator. "Many community-based groups helped monitoring water quality, restore habitats, and lobby for funding in order to make this happen. It serves as a great example for other communities around the Sound and, perhaps, the Nation."

Given the fact that the standards for opening shellfish areas are very strict and require years of consistent results before waters can be certified, this is perhaps the strongest sign yet that years of efforts by citizen groups, residents and local governments to improve the water quality in Hempstead Harbor are paying off.

For more on this story, see: http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/article.asp?ArticleID=663

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Sea Grant
• NYSG
• New York Sea Grant
• NOAA
• Long Island Sound
• Long Island Sound Study
• Hempstead Harbor
• shellfish
• NYSDEC