The replica of the Mayflower, recently refurbished at Mystic Seaport, does sail training exercises in July and August in Long Island Sound near the UConn Avery Point campus, where CT Sea Grant is based.Lindsey Kollmer, CT River River Estuary Aquatic Invasive Plant Steward, pulls invasive water chestnut from Selden CoveCrew members of Pot Luck, a vessel owned by Sam Fernandez of Sam's Seafood, sort clams from oysters as part of a restoration of natural shellfish beds near Bridgeport on June 10.Customers leave with oysters and lobsters purchased on May 23 at the new direct sales market at the Noank Aquaculture Cooperative.Dockside Seafood self-service market opened in New London has seen a significant increase in business during the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants in the National Seaweed Symposium gather near one of the exhibits at the Seaweed Showcase on the second day of the event.Members of the state's municipal shellfish commissions gathered for the 16th annual meeting on Jan. 11.Students in the 2019 Coastal Certificate classes gather after a graduation event Oct. 13 with Judy Preston, bottom center, who leads the program at CT Sea Grant.New Britain YWCA summer campersUniversity of Delaware student Samuel Koeck, center, and Sacred Heart University students Jeffrey Young, right, and Adrian Nelson, second from left, work with Chris Hauser (in mini-excavator) to improve the living shoreline at Stratford Point in a project jointly funded by CT and DE Sea Grants.Passengers walk toward the docks at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk after the July 26 On-the-Water Workshop aboard Spirit of the Sound.Sea Grant dayak fleet takes to the Mystic River on July 3 to test out a new aquaculture eco-tour being developed in partnership with Adventure Mystic, Mystic Oysters & Connecticut Cultured Oysters.Maria Cruz, second from right, and her family look for clues during the Thames River Quest at Fort Trumbull State Park sponsored by CT Sea Grant and the Thames River Heritage Park.Shad is cooked on planks around a fire at the Essex Annual Shad Bake.Students in the “Global One Health: U.S. and Irish Perspective” class at UConn see kelp harvested from J.P. Vellotti’s beds in Groton as part of a visit to the Noank Aquaculture Cooperative on May 16 organized by CT Sea Grant.Volunteers from the Avalonia Land Conservancy move a shad bush into place for planting at the Dodge Paddock Beal Preserve in Stonington on May 3 as part of a restoration and living shoreline project with Connecticut Sea Grant.Karen Wynn of Guilford, left, looks at "They Came By Water," one of the pieces in the "Crosscurrents" exhibit, with Kam Ghaffari of East Lyme. Behind them is "Sea Form" another of the works in the show.Nissrine Essafi, a student in the Climate Corps class taught by CT Sea Grant's Juliana Barrett and Bruce Hyde, shows a map of Charleston, S.C., during a presentation of a project about sea level rise impacts.Early results show sand lance larva, shown in closeup, are particulary sensitive to higher levels of carbon dioxide. Photo courtesy of Hannes BaumannThe team from the Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut won the 22nd Annual Quahog bowl.

Volunteers can celebrate estuaries by joining CT Cleanup

September 16, 2020

You don’t have to live near the beach to do your part on International Coastal Cleanup Day this Saturday Sept. 19. Picking up and documenting litter anywhere in the state that day will contribute to keeping all our lands and waterways clean, including Long Island Sound.

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Seafood Trade Relief funding available to fishermen

September 9, 2020

The USDA is making approximately $530 million available to assist U.S. fishermen through the Seafood Trade Relief Program. This program is being funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation and administered by the Farm Service Agency.

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Kristin Russo, environmental analyst at the state Department of Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture, collects a water sample in Milford using a plankton net in June.

Connecticut stays on guard against toxic algae blooms

August 4, 2020

If you’re a Connecticut shellfish farmer, your ears might perk up a bit when you hear the term HABs – harmful algal blooms. But thanks to the well-coordinated early warning system in place to catch an outbreak, people can eat clams and oysters from Long Island Sound with confidence.

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