Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino, Councilwoman Michele Johnson, Councilman Lou Imbroto and Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato took to the waters off TOBAY Marina on the Town’s south shore to help replenish the shellfish supply by adding 2 million baby clam seedlings to the Great South Bay.
“We are pleased to officially bring our highly successful seeding program to south shore waters, as we disperse these seeds that were grown right in our own Shellfish Hatchery. Programs like this not only enhance water quality, they help bolster the local economy and improve the resiliency of our coastal communities,” said Supervisor Saladino.
The Supervisor explained that the seedlings are just 2 millimeters in size when they first start out in the Town’s Shellfish Hatchery. From there, they move from those specialized tanks into a FLUPSY – a Floating Upweller System –which protects the young shellfish as they continue to grow and mature. From just 2 millimeters, those seedlings reached 15-20 millimeters, an ideal size for seeding the waterways. Those seedlings are placed strategically to help repopulate the shellfish harvesting population but also effectively clean and filter the waterways.
“This great environmental initiative preserves the quality, resiliency and natural beauty of our waterways, and we’re so proud to have expanded this program so much over the past few years on both shores of our Town,” said Councilwoman Johnson. “We’ve successfully placed more than 10 million shellfish into our waterways each year, thanks largely in part to our great Shellfish Hatchery, helping to strengthen the local economy and keep our waters clean.”