Shinnecock Bay

New York City may be one of the most densely populated urban jungles in the US, but its coastline is nonetheless home to an abundance of marine wildlife. Located 122 kilometres east of the Manhattan district, 40 square kilometres of salt marshes, intertidal flats, seagrass beds and nine thousand acres of open water make up Shinnecock Bay. The region is home to a multitude of fish and shell fish such as flounder, sturgeon, eels, blue crab, herring, anchovy, perch, bass, trout, kingfish, clam scallops and mussels. Marine birds and animals such as sea turtles and ducks also live in Shinnecock Bay but are becoming endangered by warming temperatures, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, rising sea levels and the continuing coastal developments of eastern Long Island. Such pressures have in fact caused local species of peregrine falcon, roseate tern and finback whale to now be considered threatened or endangegred. Mission Blue aims to protect the marine creatures of the Bay by designating the area a Hope Spot as of June 2022, supporting the projects of Stony Brook University as they work to populate clam sanctuaries, construct oyster reefs, reseed seagrass beds and fight invasive species of brown algae.

Protected Species