CONSERVATION
Conservation of our fragile Long Island marine environment has been, and remains, a strong tenant of our stated mission since our founding in 1995. That is why LISEC has been proud to be affiliated with the Coastal Steward Long Island (CSLI) organization.
Over the past 15+ years we were very fortunate to have Kathy O’Sullivan, LISEC Director Emeritus, as our representative to the local Coastal Steward programs. However, after a very deserved retirement from her many responsibilities, Kathy now sees herself sitting on a beach in lieu of cleaning it and we at LISEC find ourselves in need of another representative to again coordinate our efforts with CSLI. We are hoping that this coordinating effort will be fulfilled as part of our on-going search for a candidate to head up our Maritime Education programming.
In the past, LISEC volunteers have participated in Adopt-A-Beach and Shellfish Restoration programs organized by CSLI and both programs will remain a mainstay activity. If you or your organization wish to become actively involved in conserving our Long Island marine environment then please visit: www.coastalsteward.org.
ADOPT-A-BEACH
Since the start of Coastal Steward Long Island (CSLI), over 200 tons of debris covering hundreds of miles of shoreline have been removed with the help of hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. Numerous communities and organizations alike have participated in the ‘Adopt a Beach’ program.
Last summer was another busy summer for the Coastal Steward organization. who had sponsored six beach cleanups in 2018 that removed; nearly 12 tons of debris from over six miles of Long Island beaches with the help of 174 volunteers. Beaches were cleaned in Port Jefferson, Mt Sinai, Belle Terre and Miller Place.
If you or your organization is interested in participating in a beach cleanup event and wish to find out more about how you can volunteer, contact Coastal Steward Long Island. For a current schedule of planned 2019 beach cleanups click here.
SHELLFISH RESTORATION
Since the start of the Coastal Steward Long Island (CSLI) Shellfish Restoration Program in 2000, LISEC has worked with the Coastal Steward organization raising and releasing oysters in our local harbors. The success of this program is now visible as disease-free, black striped oysters are now found on piers, around Anchorage Point, and in many places around our local harbors. These oysters are busy cleaning our harbor waters. One mature oyster filters 50 gallons of water per day. LISEC volunteers, community groups, schools and scouts gain great knowledge while working on this exciting project.
The CSLI Shellfish Restoration Program is in high gear. To date, more than 500,000 adult oysters have been released into Port Jefferson and Mt Sinai Harbors and more releases are continually being planned. A major seafood wholesaler has stated that for the first time in a decade, hundreds of thousands of oysters are being legally harvested from Port Jefferson Harbor from the end of November to the end of April. This hard work is paying off both environmentally and in restoring a historic industry.
The Town of Brookhaven continues to raise batches of oyster seed for supporting this effort in their growing-out facility at Cedar Beach and we have purchased an additional 110,000 All are currently being raised in Mt. Sinai Harbor.
The volunteer turn out for this program has been great, averaging about a dozen volunteers each time we work. We meet at the Cedar Beach Brookhaven Town Facility every second Saturday at low tide. Volunteers are always welcome. It's a great learning experience.
For more details, please visit www.coastalsteward.org.
