Dan's Papers - August 29, 2008

With its unique location on the shores of Shinnecock Bay, the Southampton campus of Stony Brook University has long been a leader in marine science research. Now, with the addition of $4 million from private and public grants, and $6.9 million in state funding, Stony Brook will be launching a new Institute For Ocean Conservation Science to tackle pressing threats against the marine system, and building a new Marine Science Center on the Southampton campus.

The announcement was made Friday, August 22, with a gathering of college and government officials, at the Marine Science Center on Little Neck Road in Southampton.

"We are grateful to the private funding of Pew Charitable Trusts, as well as the public charity, Lenfest Ocean Program, for their generous donations in making this possible," said David Conover, Dean of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook. He explained that the institute will be doing much-needed research on species in crisis, since so many fish populations are being depleted or heading toward extinction. Conover introduced Ellen Pikitch, an expert on fisheries, and author of several books, who will be the director of the new Institute for Ocean Conservation Science. She explained that this research is needed because the ocean covers 72 percent of the world's surface, and "our quality of life depends on the health of the ocean."

"Only recently we've come to understand that the sea is warming, acidifying, and that its dead zones (areas lacking oxygen) are increasing," Pikitch said. "There have been beach closures, seafood health warnings and closed fisheries, and we've seen the numbers of fish in the sea plummeting. Over 100 marine species have gone extinct. The oceans are in crisis and we must act quickly."

She said the new institute will be focused on research in an academic setting, but will communicate the results widely. It will be working on sharks - whose population has plummeted 90 percent, and are threatened by the demand for fins. Pikitch said that 73 million sharks are killed each year.

She will also be leading research on the sturgeon population, which has been heavily fished due to the high demand for caviar, particularly Beluga.

"The time for them to recover is expected to be 40 years," she said. "Our work will show how to speed their recovery." She said the US consumed about 80 percent of the world supply of Beluga caviar, and that there was finally a ban on imports.

"We also work with corals, whose very important habitats are under the threat of global warming," she said. "They are also suffering from bleaching, which causes a loss of color."

The other area of research at Stony Brook Southampton will be on the depletion of small schooling fish, such as anchovies, sardines and menhaden, which are a food source for larger fish. "They are being overfished, and we hope to develop advice for managing these systems," said Pikitch.

At the gathering, Congressman Tim Bishop, a former provost at the Southampton campus, said "it is great to see this investment made in our Marine Science Division." He said he was grateful for the $6.9 million state grant to replace the aging Marine Science building with a new, state-of-the-art facility, which will be built in the next two years.

NYS Assemblyman Fred Thiele of Sag Harbor emphasized the problems facing our local fishermen.

"Our state's two largest fishing ports are Montauk and Shinnecock, and our fishermen are in crisis, with depleting stocks. Having this institute and marine science center are crucial to our well-being," he said.

Pikitch, who starts her new job on September 1, said she will be staffing her department with more scientists, faculty, graduate students and interns. "Most students will spend time on both campuses," she explained.

The new marine science center will break ground in about a year, and take about a year to construct. It will eventually house classrooms and space for public functions.

Following the meeting of college and government officials, everyone enjoyed a ride along the Shinnecock Bay aboard the college research pontoon boat, "Peconic," to experience the beauty of the sea they all are dedicated to preserving.