Speaker Series: Restoring Shellfish: Turning Brown Tide Blue

Friends of the Bay’s Speaker Series continues with “Restoring Shellfish: Turning Brown Tide Blue” with Dr. Ellen Pikitch, on Wednesday, April 28. at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The presentation will focus on using natural solutions for deteriorating water quality conditions, including harmful algal blooms.
 
Dr. Ellen Pikitch is an Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS). For the past 10 years, she has helped lead the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Project (ShiRP), which began in response to deteriorating environmental conditions in Shinnecock Bay. Scientists and students are aiming to reduce the occurrence of harmful algal blooms and increase shellfish populations, ultimately to restore the nutrient balance and enrich the diversity of plants and animals living in the bay by increasing the natural filtration capacity of the bay. They are planting millions of adult hard clams and building new oyster reefs. They are also seeding new eelgrass beds and experimenting with how macroalgae harvesting can reduce nitrogen levels in the water.
 
The event is free and open to the public. To register, visit: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTExODIw