Bay Creatures
From BBPA
Blue Claw Crab
Our bay, Moriches bay is home to many creatures.
Moriches Bay is located along the south shore of Long Island, between Great South Bay and Shinnecock Bay, in the
Towns of Brookhaven and Southampton, Suffolk County (7.5' Quadrangles: Pattersquash Island, N.Y .; Moriches,
N.Y.; and Eastport, N.Y.).
This approximate 8,900 acre area is generally defined by the mean high water elevation on the west, north, and east sides, and by the bayside edge of the salt marshes along the south shore.
The fish and wildlife habitat includes all of Moriches Bay, Moneyboque Bay, and Narrow Bay to the Smith Point bridge. T his area contains extensive areas of open water, undeveloped salt marshes, mud flats, and dredge spoil islands.
Water depths throughout the bay are generally less than 6 feet below mean low water. Moriches Inlet, which connects Moriches Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, was formed by a breach through the barrier beach during 1931 and was stabilized by stone jetties between 1947 and 1954.
The inlet is affected by substantial littoral drift, much of which is deposited in a sand shoal in the bay. Tidal fluctuations in Moriches Bay average approximately 0.7-1.2 feet. Moriches Bay is connected to Shinnecock Bay to the east via the Quogue Canal, and to Great South Bay via Narrow Bay. The bay is bordered by high d ensity residential development and small craft harbor facili-ties on the west, north and east sides. The barrier beaches to the south are generally undeveloped.
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Moriches Bay is one of three major protected, shallow, coastal bay areas on the south shore of Long Island, and constitutes one of the largest estuarine ecosystems in New York State. This highly productive bay supports a variety of fish and wildlife species throughout the year.
Many species of migratory birds nest among the salt marshes and spoil islands in Moriches Bay. In recent years, roseate terns (E), common terns (T), and black skimmers have nested on Carters Island, New Made Island, West and East Inlet Islands (near Moriches Inlet), and an unnamed island (No Name Island) located approximately three-quarters of a mile northeast of New Made Island. An estimated 2960 breeding pairs of common terns and 41 pairs of black skimmers were observed in 1985. An estimated 2,250 pairs of common terns, 8 pairs of roseate terns, and 36 pairs of black skimmers nested in Moriches Bay in 1984. This is one of the major nesting areas for these species on Long Island. Other species nesting in the area include black duck,mallard, gadwall, American oystercatcher, great black-backed gull, herring gull, willet, clapper rail, fish crow, sharp-tailed sparrow, and seaside sparrow.
The salt marshes are used extensively as feed ing areas by birds nesting in the area, and by a variety of herons, egrets, and other shorebirds. Moriches Bay is one of the most important waterfowl wintering areas (November - March) on Long Island. Midwinter aerial surveys of waterfowl abundance for the ten year period 1975-1984 indicate average concentrations o f over 5,000 birds in the bay each year (8,382 in peak year), including approximately 2,150 scaup (4,470 in peak year), 350 brant (580 in peak year), 1,100 black ducks (1,580 in peak year), 400 red-breasted mergansers (920 in peak year), 400 Canada geese (870 in peak year),and 225 mallards (430 in peak year), along with lesser numbers of common golden-eye, bufflehead, oldsquaw, American wigeon, and canvasback.
Based on these surveys, it appears that Moriches Bay supports wintering waterfowl concentrations of statewide significance. Waterfowl use of the bay during winter is influenced in part by the extent of ice cover each year. Concentrations of waterfowl also occur in the area during spring and fall migrations (March - April and October - November, respectively). The Moriches Bay fish and wildlife habitat provides waterfowl hunting of significance primarily to Suffolk County residents.
Shore Birds in the Dunes * Click here to see Birds
In addition to having significant waterfowl concentrations, Moriches Bay is a productive area for marine finfish, shellfish, and other wildlife. Much of this productivity is directly attributable to the salt marshes and tidal flats which border the bay. Moriches Bay serves as a nursery and feeding area (April - November, generally) for bluefish, winter flounder, summer flounder, tomcod, American eel, blue claw crab, and forage fish species, such as Atlantic silverside, striped killifish, pipefish, and sticklebacks. A total of 55 fish species were collected during an intensive survey of the bay in 1981.
Moriches Inlet is an especially significant component of the bay, as a corridor for fish migrations, as a source for the exchange and circulation of bay waters, and as an area where feeding by many fish and wildlife species is concentrated. As a result of the abundant fisheries resources in the bay, especially winter flounder, fluke, and baitfish species, Moriches Bay receives heavy recreational and commercial fishing pressure, of regional significance. Moriches Bay is inhabited by hard clams, bay scallops, and bank mussels, and most of the bay waters are certified for commercial shellfishing.
Shellfish
- Clams both hard-shell and soft-shell (steamers) variety thrive in Moriches Bay.
The BBPA Has been working with the Cornell Cooperative Extension's SPAT program (Southold Project in Aquaculture Training) to raise oysters and scallops in the canal behind the BBPA house.
For more information click here for a manual on acquaculture Image:2008 NB Oyster Reference Manual-1.pdf
Bank Mussel / Blue Mussel [1]
NY State DEC Shellfishing Guidelines [2]
- Horseshoe Crabs The BBPA has been assisting the Department of Environmental Conservation (D.E.C.) and the C.C.E. in their studies by counting the remaining population. Horseshoe crab eggs are an important food source for several shore birds; the dunlin, semipalmated sandpiper, sanderling, ruddy turnstone, greater yellowlegs, American golden-plover, black-bellied plover, buff-breasted sandpiper, short-billed dowitcher, red knot, purple sandpiper, marbled godwit, Hudsonian godwit, and the whimbrel.
