How’s The Water: January 25, 2013

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How’s The Water: January 25, 2013

Written by Patricia Aitken Friday, 25 January 2013 00:00

Don’t Know What An Alewife Is?

Learn Feb. 12 in Oyster Bay

Friends of the Bay, in cooperation with the Long Island Sound Study, Department of Environmental Conservation and the Seatuck Environmental Center will be conducting a training session for alewife monitoring on Tuesday, February 12 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Friends of the Bay offices at 111 South Street, Oyster Bay.

What is an alewife? Alewives (also called river herring) are small fish, growing up to 16 inches long and weighing less than half a pond. Their small size belies their importance in the ecosystem. Alewives provide for river otters, seals and other marine mammals, birds such as cormorants, ospreys, herons and eagles and other fish including bass, trout and cod. Alewives support both commercial and recreational fisheries. In the South, they are a regional delicacy. Further north, they are used as bait for lobster traps and are valued as bait for striped bass.

An alewife Populations are in serious decline along the Atlantic Coast. Management of the population is complicated, since river herring begin life in headwater creeks managed by state inland fisheries agencies. They then migrate to coastal waters controlled by state marine fisheries agencies.

On Long Island, alewife populations have declined also and this aspect of our natural heritage has been largely forgotten. Efforts are underway to restore alewives by providing access to historical spawning grounds that have been lost due to barriers to migration. Plans are underway to modify impassable culverts, remove obsolete dams, or install fish ladders and other passage structures to help fish reach valuable spawning habitat. If you are interested in learning more about alewives, respond to either Kelly Hines Leo at 631-444-0441 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Patricia Aitken at 516-922-6666 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

News

Successful ArtWalk Stroll

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 00:00

With notices now coming in, the first ArtWalk on June 2, was a success. Walter Imperatore, co-chair of the Marketing Committee of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of commerce offered, “We were generally happy with the results. Jim Perna of Long Island Picture Frame, who’s running this event for the chamber, said that he saw an increase in the number of people on the streets. That being said, we were looking to attract more people.”

ArtWalk also gave several artists the opportunity to share their talent with the public as the Arts & Antiques Walk planned for this summer’s Sundays debuted. It is intended to bring people to the hamlet by adding “eye candy” to the streetscape and Julie and David Heiss of the Madd Potter agreed it did.

How I Love Sagamore Hill

Saturday, 08 June 2013 00:00

The final 2013 lecture in the John A. Gable series was somewhat different from past lectures. The May 16 lecture showcased Xiomaro’s (pronounced SEE-oh-MAH-ro) wonderful and inspiring “How I love Sagamore Hill” photo collection. Commissioned by Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, and displayed in collaboration with the Oyster Bay Historical Society at the Koenig Center, “How I love Sagamore Hill”, derives from Theodore Roosevelt’s well-known quote to his wife Edith on the day before his death.

Sports

We’re Having A Field Day!

Thursday, 20 June 2013 00:00

Hooray! One of the best signs the school year is coming to a close is Field Day, and last week the fields at Friends Academy were swarming with Red, White and Blue as the Middle Schoolers romped through some friendly intramural competition.

Red won the day, but that didn’t dampen the fun for White or Blue. “This is way more fun than sitting inside,” said sixth-grader Nico Santiago. “I’m so pumped. No homework for three months!”

Boys Lacrosse Wins County Championship

Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00

County title is a first for Quakers and their program

With fans wildly cheering from the sidelines, the Friends Academy Boys Varsity Lacrosse team kept rival Cold Spring Harbor at bay before ultimately beating them 9-4 to capture their first ever Class C Nassau County Championship.

Coach Brian Crocco credits the team’s offensive balance with their success in the championship game and throughout the 14-2 season. “What we have found all season is that while we do have a few serious impact players who contribute quite a bit to our offensive success, what has been most remarkable is that we have shared the scoring well, especially in big games. During the championship game, we had seven different goal scorers contribute for the win — two seniors, three juniors, and two sophomores. We have six guys with at least 20 points each this season, so in crucial situations we have found that any number of guys can make a play.”