these shells live in shallow bays between the two "forks" of long
island. they were decimated by a toxic brown algae that suddenly
appeared in the 1980s, which clogged their filtering apparatus, and
from which the populations never recovered. A massive intervention, as
noted in the article. was needed to restore the populations to a small
fraction of their former levels. In the current situation from Sandy
you have an issue with turbidity/sedimentation, and possibly  local
sewage treatment plants being inundated or overwhelmed , possibly
contributing.

Those of us who were members of the newly formed  Long Island Shell
Club in the 1970s  got to see a vivid example of the glory days of the
Peconic Bay scallops- in 1976 or 1977 we had a  club trip to one site
near Shelter Island. There were piles of live scallops  at low tide
along the whole length of the  shoreline literally up to your
knees.All kinds of colors and patterns.  As a young sheller, I had
never seen anything like it. And, ominously, none of us on that trip
(we filled a school bus with trip goers!) realized that a few years
later,  nobody would ever see anything like it again.


On 11/14/12, Martin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I was worried to mention that after storms shelling is improved due to
> the deeper
> sand is tossed ashore.   I'm sorry to say that the land overlaid to much
> onto it.
>
> I also suspect some of the deeper in the ocean waste that New York dumps
> from the
> sewer and such has come ashore.
>
> The whole thing is a fall trick of Mother Nature.
>
> If you go out, clean up you and the shells, car and truck and
> equipment.  One never knows.
>
> Martin
>
> On 11/14/2012 4:58 PM, Steve Rosenthal wrote:
>> a story in our local newspaper today about the apparent impact on our
>> already diminished and fragile bay scallop population-
>>
>> google "Newsday sandy ruins scallop season" or "newsday pollution ruins
>> scallop season"
>>
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