Long Island Sound: Past to Present by Sue Morrow Flanagan
When Arlriae n Block came through Long Island Sound 375 years ago, it a bounded with aq uatic life-huge oysters , clams, lobsters, dozens of species of fish in limitl ess numbers, and even dolphins. Coloni sts built homes and an energetic fishin g industry which survives today . But, in the 19th century , heavy industry began dumping massive amounts of toxic waste into the Sound. The human population soared and railroads and hi ghways crept out along the Sound 's indented shoreli nes, bridging and cutti ng off many of its inlets. In this century, with the automobile came the suburban sprawl of cottages, homes, recreational developments and countless industries. Until recently , wetlands were wastelands to be filled . Sewage, toxins, o il running off highways and other waste could easi ly go into waterways under the rule " out-of-sight, out-of-mind." The C lean Water Act of the 1970s forced many industries to clean up, or pack up and most of us thought that was good enough. Then , the summer of 1987 saw the weste rn end of Long Island Sound , from New York 's Throgs Neck Bridge to Bridgeport. Connecticut, di e for lac k of oxygen. In Hempstead Harbor, Dr. Barbara Wel sh, Associate Professor of Oceanography at the University of Connecticut watched two divers slide into the water from a small launch belong ing to the Uni vers ity of Connecti cut 's research
vessel, Yukon. They found themselves swimming through a murk of decomposing fish. Trawlers for the Marine Fisheries Program of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection found 80% of bottom-dwellers like starfish and crabs dead, and failed to find even one fi sh alive. Today , two years later, Dr. Welsh, who is also the principal investigator on water column hypoxia (loss of oxygen) forthe Federal Long Island Sound Study, points out that 1988 was a better year, " but we were within I mi lli gram of oxygen per liter of go ing over the edge . The Sound 's marg in of safety is [dangerously] small in summer." In 1985 , the magnitude of the problem was such that, under the National Estuary Program , the Federa l Government initi ated a $3 million Long Island Sound Study (kno wn as LISS to its fri ends). The stud y rece ived hi gh marks in Washington DC, but the news wasn't good. A congress ional caucus on the Sound decided last autumn that the Sound was in even worse condition than anticipated. While acknowl edging some improvements, especiall y in the $20 million a year fishing industry, the caucus pointed an accusing finger at development in the area.
People: The Problem In the dim light of the Norwa lk Maritime Center's aquarium , res ident marine biologist Skip Crane lean s over for an eye-to-eye view of a stoic blackfi sh.
In dustrial development cluttered the harbors oft he Sound du ring th e last century, even while schooners pursued the historic lumber trade under sail. Th e changing times are caught here in an evocati ve view of the site of today's No rwalk Maritim e Center. Photo courtesy Norwalk Maritime Cen ter.
Skip acknow ledges the probl ems are serious but ultimately has great fa ith in the resilience of a system washed dai ly by bi II ions of gallons of c lean sea water. He sail s the Sound each day with stu dents and sees burgeoning life, a health ier fish ing industry and great hope for the future. The one year-o ld , $30 milli on Norwalk Maritime Center shows quite clearly what a healthy Sound sho uld look like. Vi sitors start above water with ex hibits abo ut the oystering industry, boatbuilding and nav igati onal subjects. Then, the aq uarium leads visitors into the Sound itself, starting with a salt mars h and tidal pools where dozens of species begin life. Touch tanks all ow children and ad ults to ho ld a ferociouslooking, but utterly harmless horseshoe crab, an ee l, sea robin or starfish. Ironicall y, a quick g lance at a nauti ca l chart shows a sewage outlet opposite the Center, illuminating the Damocles' sword hanging over the Sound 's future. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spill s and inefficienci es from the 86 sewage plants aro und the Sound re lease over one billion gallons of inadeq uately treated sewage into the Sound each day-all in all , a total of 376 billion gall ons annuall y or enough to fill 6.3 million Olympic-size pool s. Sewage and chemi cals are just two of the crucial factors in a dead ly phenomenon cal led hypox ia. Hypox ia takes place
The convulsion that sei:ed the Sound in 1987 as result of human exploitation is shown al/ too clearly below; west of Middle Ground, the Sound went dead. ln 1988 things improved. We have yet ro see about 1989.. Map courtesy Long Island Sound Task Force.
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SEA HISTORY , SUMMER 1989