Oyster Bay Harbor Gets 20K Oyster Seedlings

OYSTER BAY, NY — The Town of Oyster Bay celebrated National Oyster Day by transferring thousands of oyster seedlings into Oyster Bay Harbor.

More than 20,000 oyster seedlings were transferred from the Town's shellfish hatchery Wednesday into the FLUPSY, or Floating UPwelling SYstem, located at Theodore Roosevelt Park Marina.

The Town's hatchery, which opened in the fall, was launched with the goal of populating Oyster Bay Harbor with 2 million additional clams and oysters. This goal is intended to generate economic benefits for the local shellfish industry, in addition to environmental benefits that include improved water quality as a result of each shellfish filtering gallons of water every day.

“Oyster Bay Harbor has long been considered one of the crown jewels of Oyster Bay, and we’ve done more than ever before to improve its water quality,” said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Saladino. “From our rigorous seeding program to the great work being done at our new shellfish hatchery, we are continuing to improve the water quality in our bay while delivering economic benefits to the shellfish industry.”

The Town and local baymens association currently maintain a FLUPSY in the harbor to grow clams and establish “grow-out” areas to allow the clams to mature prior to final seeding. The Town of Oyster Bay purchases two million seed clams annually for placement in the bay.

The Town plans to eventually expand its clam and oyster seeding operation from the hatchery to the South Shore, where the Town works in partnership with other municipalities, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell Cooperative, Stony Brook University and the New York Department of State to improve water quality in the Great South Bay.

“The environmental initiatives we take on today will preserve the quality, resiliency, and natural beauty of our local waterways for generations to come,” said Councilman Lou Imbroto. “Protecting our natural assets is a top priority and by restoring and reseeding our shellfish populations, we not only strengthen the local economy, but also ensure we are working to keep our waters clean.”