Above: Indian Island off Hubbard Ave in Peconic Bay, Riverhead, NY. Photo by Kaitlin Morris.
Catch the latest press featuring SoMAS faculty and staff!
The Environmental Protection Agency recently granted SoMAS with an award in the amount $522,537 in support of the “Peconic Estuary Partnership,” for the period July 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022. This is renewable annually and was awarded to Dr. Joyce Novak, Executive Director of the Peconic Estuary Partnership and Adjunct Faculty at SoMAS, and co-PIs Chris Gobler and Paul Shepson.
This year’s award has an associated/required match which is $522,527 from NYS (funds directed to Marine Animal Disease Lab for Scallop research $368,887; USGS continuous water quality monitoring stations $153,650). This represents the first award, and start of SoMAS/SBU’s relationship as host of the Peconic Estuary Partnership.
The Peconic Estuary is one of 28 estuaries in the country designated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an “estuary of national significance” under Section 320 of the Federal Clean Water Act. The National Estuary Program (NEP) was established to protect and restore nationally significant estuaries threatened or impaired by pollution, development, and overuse. The Peconic Estuary was formally accepted as part of the NEP in 1992. Officially commenced in 1993, the Peconic Estuary Partnership (PEP) on the East End of Long Island includes numerous stakeholders, representing citizen and environmental groups, businesses and industries, academic institutions, and local, county, state and federal governments. The Research Foundation at Stony Brook University serves as the host of the Peconic National Estuary Program.
Newsday: Great white sharks tracked swimming off Long Island
- Chris Paparo, the Southampton Marine Science Center manager at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, said Long Island largely attracts juvenile great whites who largely feed on fish such as bunker, bluefish, flounder and sea robins.
BBC: Why seagulls are making their homes in our cities
- Lesley Thorne, a seabird ecologist at Stony Brook University, is investigating mixed colonies of American herring gulls and great black-blacked gulls on Long Island, Tuckernuck island and New York City.
Florida News Times: State passes kelp bill that could pave the way for commercial cultivation in 2 LI bays
- Kelp has been scrutinized by the Department of Marine Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University and has achieved unprecedented success in growing ribbon-shaped seaweed in the shallow waters of Moriches Bay.
East Hampton Star: For the Health of Scallops
- This would supplement the recording device installed annually by Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.
Southampton Press: Blue-Green Algae Found In Southampton Ponds
- An analysis of surface water samples performed by SUNY Stony Brook confirmed the presence of the cyanobacteria blooms in Old Town Pond in Southampton and Mill Pond in Water Mill.
Sag Harbor Express: Sag Harbor Seeks Help For Annual Water-Quality Testing Program
- Since 2014, Sag Harbor Village has contracted with Dr. Chris Gobler of Stony Brook University to conduct periodic water testing at various locations around the village. Also ran in Southampton Press.
The Guardian: New Yorkers fled to the Hamptons in 2020 – and sparked a major sewage crisis
- Now, harvests of clams and scallops have decreased 99%, in large part due to the excess nitrogen from untreated groundwater, according to Christopher Gobler, head of coastal ecology and conservation at Stony Brook University’s marine sciences school. Also ran in MSN.
Montauk Patch: 900-Pound Shark, Freya, Spotted Off Coast Of Long Island
- Christopher Paparo, manager of Stony Brook Southampton’s marine sciences center, said at one time, sharks were very common in area waters. “They have been heavily fished, and their numbers have dropped. Due to regulations and better environmental conditions, we have seen some species returning to where they once roamed.”
News12: Tests show brown tide cell count in Patchogue at highest level since 2017
- Stony Brook University’s Dr. Chris Gobler says brown tide has rapidly intensified to more than 300,000 cells per milliliter in Patchogue Bay as of Wednesday — the highest brown tide cell count on Long Island since 2017.
Patchogue Patch: Brown Tide Eruption Creeps Into Long Island’s Great South Bay
- An intense and damaging brown tide has erupted, threatening marine life like hard clams, across Great South Bay on the south shore of Long Island, according to scientists at The Gobler Laboratory of Stony Brook University.
CBS 2 New York: Scientists: Great South Bay Off Long Island Suffering Through Most Intense Brown Tide In Years
Medford Patch: Worst Brown Tide In Years Threatens Great South Bay
- This year’s brown tide in the Great South Bay is the worst since 2017, scientists at Stony Brook University say. Also ran in Coastal News Today,
Southampton Patch: New Blue-Green Algae Found In Hamptons Pond
- Analysis of surface water samples performed by SUNY Stony Brook confirmed the presence of the new cyanobacteria blooms; health officials have asked residents not to use, or swim or wade, in the water and to keep children and pets away from the area.
East Hampton Star: Water Report: Blue-Green Algae Bloom in Bridgehampton, High Bacteria Levels Elsewhere
Long Island.com: Oysters Part of Plan to Improve Water Quality in Port Jeff Harbor
- In a joint effort between the Town of Brookhaven and SUNY Stony Brook, 20,000 oysters were added to Port Jefferson Harbor to study the potential these shellfish have in removing nutrients to improve water quality.
Southampton Press: Schneiderman Says Town Could Take Emergency Measures To Protect Mecox Bay
- After receiving a memo from Stony Brook University scientists warning that the bay is teetering on the brink of becoming an ecological and human health concern, Mr. Schneiderman told state officials that he would be monitoring levels of dissolved oxygen, salinity and dangerous algae blooms and will order the cut open if they reach certain levels that scientists say could lead to disaster.
East Hampton Star: Water Report: Blue-Green Algae Bloom in Bridgehampton, High Bacteria Levels Elsewhere
- However, the Suffolk County Health Department reported a new cyanobacteria bloom in Kellis Pond in Bridgehampton. Following confirmation of the bloom by Stony Brook University, the county has asked people not to swim or wade in the pond and to keep children and pets away from it.
WCBS-TV: Scientists: Great South Bay Off Long Island Suffering Through Most Intense Brown Tide In Years
- “Thirty five thousand cells-per-milliliter is the level that can begin to cause harm to, for example, clams, and we are at half a million cells-per-milliliter,” said Dr. Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook Coastal Ecology and Conservation.
