The oyster gardening program has returned to Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset Bay once again to aid in cleaning the harbor’s water, but a new face came around this year as Rep. Tom Suozzi joined to get his feet wet in the program.
“Protecting and preserving the Long Island Sound, our ‘National Park,’ and its shellfishing heritage, is a top priority and a shared responsibility,” Suozzi said.
The community oyster garden program, which is in its third year, is an initiative by the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor to restore the local body of water.
Oysters clean the harbor by filtering the water through their bodies, removing phytoplankton, bacteria, and other small particles.
The oysters also aid in promoting the harbor’s biodiversity by providing habitat and protection for other water fauna.
Volunteers manage the conservation education program by helping raise oysters in cages throughout the harbor. The cage locations are Tappen Beach Marina, North Hempstead Beach Park, the Hempstead Harbour Club, and Sea Cliff Yacht Club.
Their responsibilities include keeping the cages clean and tracking the oysters’ growth. Once oysters mature to a certain size, they can be released into the water outside of the cages to naturally repopulate the harbor and continue cleaning it.
“By having community members participate in this program, our goal is to increase awareness about factors affecting Hempstead Harbor and provide information about the important role oysters play in the environment,” program project manager Sarah Stromski said. “With increased awareness and engagement from the community, we can work toward restoring Hempstead Harbor’s shellfish resource.”
About 85,000 spat-on-shell oysters were brought to the harbor this year. The oysters were provided by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s shellfish hatchery in Southold.
Suozzi joined the committee Tuesday when 80 crates of these 1 million oysters were delivered.
The program was made possible through funding sponsored by Suozzi, which was initially delivered in 2022 during his prior term in office. The 2022 Community Project Grant delivered up to $2 million for programs in Manhasset Bay, Hempstead Harbor and Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor.
The Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor and the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee operate the Hempstead Harbor program.
The Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Friends of the Bay and the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee aid in conducting the other programs.
“In 2021, Tom invited me to a press conference to announce federal funds he had allocated to Hempstead Harbor for oyster seeding. During the press conference, I advocated for, and asked him not to forget about Manhasset Bay. He assured me that he would not forget and soon allocated $100K from the grant for oyster seeding in Manhasset Bay,” North Hempstead Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte said. “Today, we deposited another million spat-on-shell oysters in Manhasset Bay with the funding Rep. Suozzi secured. I am incredibly grateful to Rep. Suozzi for hearing me and delivering for Manhasset Bay.”
A Greentree Foundation Good Neighbor Fund grant also funds the Hempstead Harbor program.
Suozzi has advocated for the Long Island Sound during his tenure, which recently included the passage of a bill co-sponsored by the representative that continued the Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound programs through 2028.
“I have worked on restoring shellfishing beds, reseeding our harbors, cutting nitrogen from sewage treatment plants and stormwater runoff, and cleaning up pollution in the Sound,” Suozzi said.
