Indicators:  Sound + Shore

Seafood Sampler

Fewer than half of the 40 marine species sampled in Long Island Sound were found to have growing populations in 2006.

The DEP samples marine fish and invertebrates every spring and fall by towing nets from a research vessel. This indicator includes lobster, squid and 38 species of fish and shows general trends in their collective populations. In 2005 and 2006, less than half of these species were as common as they were in the 1980s and 1990s. From 1984 through last year, the majority of species showed a decline. Scientists are unsure of the reasons behind the declines and fluctuations of recent years. One possible explanation for the decline of some prey species is the population growth of striped bass and other predators. There also appears to be a decline is some colder-water species as warm-water species increase.