Shellfish Restoration Season Kicks Off In Southold

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NORTH FORK, NY — The shellfish restoration season kicked off with an oyster spawn in Southold Friday.

According to representatives from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County's aquaculture program, every year, the season is kicked off with an oyster spawn at the Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center, located on Cedar Beach Road.

The yearly "Spawning Season Kick-Off" presented an opportunity to celebrate CCE Suffolk’s work with shellfish, organizers said.

The event brought together local officials, stakeholders, and volunteers who together witnessed the opening moments of a process that plays an important role in the regional economy and helps to sustain the local environment, CCE said.

Among those in attendance were Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine; Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker; State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiovoni; Southold Town Councilman Greg Doroski; a representative from State Senator Anthony Palumbo’s office; and representatives from Suffolk County Legislators Catherine Stark’s and Chad Lennon’s offices.

For more than 30 years, scientists at CCE Suffolk has been producing oysters, bay scallops, hard clams, and other shellfish at SCMELC for planting in local waters. In 2018, a 3,700-square-foot production hatchery was added to the site. The hatchery delivers more than 145 million oyster larvae annually.

The industry is critically important to the economic health of the region, organizers said: According to the Long Island Oyster Growers Association, the shellfish industry on Long Island accounts for about $30 million dollars in economic activity annually in the region.

Work with shellfish at SCMELC began in the early 1990s when a shellfish hatchery was established there to support reseeding efforts in Southold, Southampton, and Shelter Island. Since that time, CCE Suffolk has worked with these towns to seed clams, oysters, and scallops in local waters. The seeding helps to improve water quality and to support recreational and commercial shellfishing, CCE said.

The facility is also the site of innovative work relating to the production of native ribbed mussels used for habitat restoration, shoreline stabilization, and water quality improvement, CCE said.

"Aquaculture research serves as a critical foundation for Long Island’s multi-million-dollar shellfish industry," said Vanessa Lockel, executive director of CCE Suffolk. "Spanning four decades, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s team of scientists have been making valuable contributions to this important component of our regional economy."

At the "Spawning Season Kick-Off" those in attendance witnessed the way a small tank of several dozen adult oysters, conditioned for spawning over many weeks, can result in the creation of millions of oyster larvae in a matter of hours. This year’s guests also learned about CCE Suffolk’s work with bay scallops and recent advances in the field of kelp aquaculture.

"Long Islanders have come to recognize that you cannot have a successful shellfishing sector in our region without the active engagement of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s hatchery," said State Senator Anthony Palumbo. "CCE Suffolk’s first-class team of aquaculture scientists deserve the praise of the entire community for the outstanding work they do."

"The shellfish sector has long played a key role in Suffolk County’s economy and also in our culture," said County Executive Ed Romaine. "I applaud the essential work that Cornell Cooperative Extension does to help maintain a large and vibrant supply of shellfish in our county."

In addition to supporting wild harvests and the oyster farming industry, CCE Suffolk runs a community-based program — similar to its Master Gardeners Program — that enables local individuals and families to play a direct role in raising oysters. The Suffolk Project in Aquaculture Training, or SPAT, initiative provides intensive shellfish aquaculture training while also fostering a sense of stewardship for the local marine environment. Volunteers raise oysters for their own consumption at designated venues throughout the county. Participants become more aware of the impact that day-to-day, land use decisions have on water quality.

SPAT participants are provided with oyster seeds and monthly workshops where they learn to start their own shellfish gardens. They are free to grow their oysters at the Southold facility, at one of the three CCE Suffolk Aquaculture Program annexes across the county, or off their own docks after gaining approval for a special license. Oysters are grown in containment, away from predators, until they reach an adult size.

"Shellfishing has long played an important role in the lives of many North Fork residents and across Long Island as a whole," said Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski. "It's a source of honor for the Town of Southold to serve as the home base of CCE Suffolk’s remarkable shellfish hatchery. The work done at the lab benefits the Town of Southold and the whole of the Peconic Bay. We’re proud to see them launch a new year of success."

In May 2023, a study conducted by the HR&A economic development advisory firm concluded that Long Island would benefit greatly by intensified investment in its "blue economy" sectors, encompassing aquaculture, marine research, marine construction, maritime transportation, offshore wind, and tourism and recreation. Those sectors were sustaining 67,700 regional jobs in 2021, a figure that HR&A says has the potential to grow to 127,800 jobs by 2051. The study also found that, by that year, those sectors could potentially be delivering $41 billion in economic output and more than $2.6 billion in tax revenue, CCE said.