when dissolved oxygen levels in water drop to 3 milligrams per liter or less. Winter storms pound the Sound, cleaning and oxygenating it. In summer, the heat and stillness of the Sound restrict the natural flow between deep and surface waters.High nutrient levels from sewage, ferti Iizers or storms (which wash nutrients down rivers or out of marshes) foster an intense bloom of a red-brown algae called photoplankton. The algae bloom sucks up oxygen as it lives, and each bloom uses even more as it dies and decomposes . . . . and the Solution Richard Schreiner of the Long Island Sound Taskforce says the problem is serious, "but not hopeless. " He cites experts who claim fish kills have been recorded back to colonial times. Even then, blue fish in a feeding frenzy drove thousands of menhaden up tiny streams unable to support such intense populations . Yet, Schreiner points out, this decade 's fish kills have been "extremely aggravated by excessive urbanization." Schreiner believes, "The greatest help for the Sound will come from people getting involved individually. What's missing is public concern." Allen Berrien, owner of the Milford Boat Works and another member of the Long Island Taskforce, shakes his head at the narrow view many critics take. Boaters and coastal communities often take the whole rap. Berrien says: "The coastal communities are not just bad guys. The culprit is lack of sewage treatment, not just along the coast but in the whole watershed from Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire to Connecticut and New York. " And the problem is bigger than sewage. While storm drains carrying fuel and grease, fertilizers from lawns and farms, boaters dumping heads containing sewage and chemicals like formaldehyde at sea, ocean dumping, and plastics all play a role in assaulting the health of the Sound, another issue is greater. Schreiner points out that between the European arrival 375 years ago and the mid- I970s Long Island Sound lost 50% of its salt marshes. In the face of development, "The Sound is being robbed of its ability to protect and clean itself." So, when a wetland many miles inland , with its unique filtering and cleaning qualities , is filled in to build a shopping mall in Danbury , Connecticut, the watershed is degraded and the Sound is stripped further of its resilience and its hope for the future. SEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1989
Sea life thrii'ing in the varied unde1water habitats of the Sound can he explored at the Norwalk Center, including personal encounteers with star fish , sea robins, horseshoe crabs and other life forms. You can also learn how human forms find their way on the swface. Photos by Sue Morrow Flanagan.
The real hope for the future lies not only in the work of dedicated people like Dr. Welsh, Skip Crane, Richard Schreinerand Allen Berrien, but in even wider public involvement. Dr. Welsh praises Terry Backer, a commercial fisherman and the newly-appointed Soundkeeper, as well as Dick Harris, an oil company executive who leads a group of volunteers from the Norwalk Nature Center who rise each morning before dawn to go down and scientifically measure oxygen levels. " It 's a high class operation ," Dr. Welsh says. " Its a better job than any agency monitoring I've ever seen." Across the Sound, the Maritime Center on Long Island is sponsoring a 70-mile waterfront cleanup program. President William T. Perks wrote to hi s members: " I am sure you agree that after many years ofneglect, it is time to renew our efforts and become ecologically responsible. "
This is the level of personal concern people like Dr. Welsh and Richard Schreiner are looking for-when individuals assist in scientific monitoring or question their community sewage treatment, storm drain outlets, fertilizertreatments and waste disposal. While natural factors cannot be controlled, human factors like sewage, run-off and the closing of wetlands can be. Therein lies the greatest hope for the Long Island Sound. u,
For further information and to learn what you can do: Richard Schreiner, Long Island Sound Taskforce, 185 Magee Ave., Stamford CT 06902; (203) 327-9876. William T. Perks, Long Island Maritime Center, PO Box 481, Centerport NY 11721; (516) 754 2864. Melissa Bari stain, NY Sea Grant Extension Program, Dutchess Hall , State University of New York , Stony Brook NY 11794 ; (516) 632-8737. 23