Sandy Gouged Hole In Fire Island, Restoring Bay To Health After Years Of Algae Blooms
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For at least three decades, widespread blooms of algae have regularly darkened the waters of the bay. The blooms are traced to nitrogen seeping underground and into the bay, primarily from large sections of Long Island that rely on septic tanks but also from fertilizers and pesticides applied to lawns and farm crops. They have contributed to the demise of meadows of eelgrass used by fish for nurseries and shellfish beds that once supplied half the clams eaten in the U.S.
The breach has shifted the equation. "This would have cost millions of dollars to create and nature created it for us, so we consider this Sandy's one gift," said Marshall Brown, president of Save the Great South Bay, a conservation group. "It showed us what the bay was when we were kids, and it showed us what it could be again."
The Great South Bay stretches for 32 miles along the South Shore of Long Island. Fishermen have reported seeing fluke, seals and river herring this year where they hadn't been seen in years. An algae bloom struck again this year, but it was less intense and dissipated quickly.
"The clams in the eastern part of the bay look better than they have in a long time." said Carl LoBue, a marine scientist for the Nature Conservancy. "They have big fat growth rings on them."
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323981304579079481094489904.html
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