None The Nature Conservancy in New York Press Releases Search All Press Releases Kara Jackson Phone: (631) 329-7689 x20 Email: kjackson@tnc.org

Innovative Partnership Helps Long Island’s Diminished Shellfish

Corporate Foundation, Education, Government & Non-Profit Sectors Team up to Support Shellfish Restoration, Water Quality Enhancement

Cold Spring Harbor, NY — October 30, 2009 — Representatives from the National Grid Foundation, Western Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), Town of Smithtown and The Nature Conservancy gathered today to show their support and involvement in restoring Long Island’s dwindling shellfish populations.

The group met in Smithtown, where high school students are rearing baby clams in the town’s pristine harbor. Most of the clams will be planted today in this harbor and a portion will be released into The Nature Conservancy’s underwater preserve in Great South Bay. The educational program, funded by the National Grid Foundation, aims to increase students’ appreciation and understanding of the importance of shellfish and in turn helps restore Long Island’s coastal waters with clams.

This program, backed by the National Grid Foundation, the Town of Smithtown, BOCES, and The Nature Conservancy provides students with a year-long curriculum that teaches about Long Island’s rich maritime history, local shellfisheries, hard clam biology, mariculture, and the health of our local bays. It incorporates an outdoor education component while allowing students to participate in a large-scale restoration project.

“This program, with the involvement of partners from all sectors, shows that everyone has a stake in protecting and caring for Long Island’s natural resources. Shellfish are an important part of who we are as Long Islanders and they are tremendously important for maintaining water quality in our bays and harbors,” said Nancy Kelley, executive director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island.

Shellfish are no longer as abundant as they once were which has had repercussions on Long Island’s economy, recreational opportunities and quality of life. During the 1970s, more than half the clams eaten in the entire country came from the Great South Bay. What’s more, this decline has had negative consequences on the ecosystem health of the bay itself. Back in the 1970’s, there were enough clams to filter 40 percent of this Bay every day, but today only one percent of the Bay is filtered daily. Restored and properly managed shellfish populations can renew once-thriving fisheries and revive recreational opportunities that are part of Long Island’s rich maritime heritage.

According to National Grid Foundation Executive Director, Bob Keller, “We are pleased to contribute to this meaningful partnership between BOCES and The Nature Conservancy. The combined energy and expertise of these organizations are positively impacting the future.”

“Students involved in the program are learning that what we do on land ultimately affects the health and well-being of our waters and the creatures it supports,” said Dan Stenzler, Marine Biologist for Western Suffolk BOCES. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the students to help restore the overall health of Great South Bay.”

“We’re very pleased to work with BOCES, The Nature Conservancy and local students in efforts to restore healthy shellfish populations throughout Long Island. Stony Brook Harbor in the Town of Smithtown is one of the cleanest water bodies on Long Island. It’s a great place to learn about the environment and a great resource for restoring other areas,” said Patrick R. Vecchio, Town Supervisor of the Town of Smithtown.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

The National Grid Foundation was created to enhance the quality of life in areas where National Grid provides services. The Foundation’s ongoing challenge is to create opportunities for solutions to educational and environmental issues. Its objective is based on the principle that giving people the tolls to build hope is an essential ingredient in the development of individuals, families and communities. Since its inception in December of 1998, the Foundation has provided more than $15 million in grants to hundreds of organizations.

The Town of Smithtown has been restocking Stony Brook Harbor with clams and oysters for over 20 years. The Town uses both floating rafts and an upweller system to protect juvenile shellfish as they grow to a suitable size for seeding in the harbor. In addition, the Town provides seed clams to the BOCES program which are raised by Long Island high school students in rafts of their own construction for eventual seeding in Stony Brook Harbor. In recent years The Nature Conservancy has also contributed seed clams to the BOCES program which are raised by students in Stony Brook Harbor and then seeded in Great South Bay.

Since 2004, The Nature Conservancy has been restocking its 13,400-acre underwater holdings in the Great South Bay with hard clams in the hopes they will reproduce, and ultimately restore this depleted water body to its former glory. To date, more than three and a half million adult clams have been placed in the Bay. Suffolk County is an underwriter of this initiative. The Nature Conservancy thanks its generous supporters in the shellfish restoration effort: Suffolk County, New York State, NOAA Restoration Center, Brookhaven, Islip and Babylon Townships, Knapp/Swezey Foundation, Lowe's Companies, Inc., National Grid Foundation, Pall Corporation, Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, the Joseph and Sylvia Slifka Foundation, and the Wildlife Forever Fund.