Saving Seafood

CONNECTICUT: may allow smaller out-of-state lobsters to be sold here – which supporters say could lower prices

May 6, 2026 — Most if not all of the lobsters sold at Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock are from out of state, according to owner Susan Tierney. But when her brother opened the Groton restaurant in 1996, they only sold locally fished lobsters.

“He was a lobsterman and a lobster wholesaler. He used to bring in all of our lobsters,” Tierney said of her now deceased brother, Tom Eshenfelder. “We don’t do that anymore.”

The year that Captain Scott’s opened was a big one for Connecticut’s lobster industry. More than 2.8 million pounds of lobster was landed in Connecticut that year, and by 1998, that number would grow to its peak of more than 3.7 million pounds, according to data maintained by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

But that was before the lobster die-off in Long Island Sound, caused by warming water, a shell rot illness and other factors. By 2000, only 1.3 million pounds of lobster was landed in Connecticut, and it just kept getting worse. In 2022, only 88,000 pounds of lobster was caught by Connecticut lobstermen.

“I don’t see a lot of local lobsters anymore,” Tierney said.

Tierney has to sell out-of-state lobsters, just like other restaurants and fish markets selling lobster in Connecticut, and they all pay a hidden premium on smaller-size lobsters.

State lawmakers will likely change the laws that govern the maximum and minimum size a lobster can be to be legally sold in Connecticut, in the hope that your lobster roll might be somewhat cheaper next year. The language, originally part of a seafood-specific bill, has been added to the state budget bill, which is widely expected to be signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont.

USD 12 million awarded for restoring fish habitats, growing oysters in Long Island Sound

Decemeber 4, 2025 — The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has awarded USD 12 million (EUR 10.3 million) in grants to support the health of the Long Island Sound, with much of the funding supporting improvements to fish habitats, marine debris removal, and oyster recovery.

The grants will also leverage USD 8 million (EUR 6.9 million) in matching contributions from recipients of the funding, bringing the total investment to USD 20 million (EUR 17.2 million). The grants were awarded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, a project launched in 2005 in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve the health of the sound and conserve habitat.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEW YORK: Dredging operations underway at Lake Montauk Harbor

November 5, 2025 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District has begun dredging operations at Lake Montauk Harbor in East Hampton, N.Y., with work expected to continue through January 2026.

The federally maintained navigation channel is being dredged to restore safe passage for commercial fishing vessels, while sand from the project will be used to rebuild eroded beaches west of the harbor’s western jetty.

“Equipment and the dredge have arrived, and work will begin soon to restore safe navigation in the harbor and maintain access for Montauk’s fishing fleet,” the Town of East Hampton said in a social media post.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

One of Long Island Sound’s most invasive species is appearing on dinner menus. Here’s why and where

October 8, 2025 — The European green crab, commonly found in the Long Island Sound, is becoming a beloved culinary dish known for its sweet, rich and complex flavor.

But unlike other types of standard seafood fare found on menus in Connecticut, the green crab is considered one of the “world’s most invasive species” to inhabit the icy waters off New England. The crab is believed to have come to the eastern Atlantic from western European waters over 200 years ago and is known for causing ecological harm as a voracious predator, consuming up to 40 half-inch soft-shell clams in a single day and eating a variety of shellfish including scallops, mussels and oysters.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, green crabs are considered one of the most invasive species in the marine environment because they have very few predators, aggressively hunt and eat their prey, destroy seagrass and outcompete local species for food and habitat. The crab is now found from Maine all the way down to Delaware, according to the NOAA.

Read the full article at Hartford Courant

CONNECTICUT: New law looks to bring invasive species out of Long Island Sound and onto your dinner plate

October 2, 2025 — A number of new laws take effect today, including one that helps cut down on invasive species in Long Island Sound.

The goal is to help get invasive species out of Long Island Sound and onto your dinner plate.

James Beard Award Winner David Standridge runs two restaurants in Mystic, The Shipwright’s Daughter and Mystic Fish Camp.

Standridge uses hundreds of pounds of green crab, an invasive species, in his menu items. There are thousands of green crabs in Long Island Sound that live in shallow, rocky water close to land.

Read the full article at WFSB

Studies find “troubling decline” of horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound

September 18, 2025 — Researchers at Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.A.-based The Maritime Aquarium claim new studies show a “troubling decline” in the horseshoe crab population within Long Island Sound.

“Horseshoe crabs are a cornerstone of estuarine ecosystems, and their decline is alarming in its own right but also has cascading consequences for other animals and ecological processes,” Maritime Aquarium Vice President of Conservation Sarah Crosby said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fulton Fish Market Cooperative rallies to urge Trump to halt Empire Wind project

July 18, 2025 — Bronx, New York City, USA-based Fulton Fish Market Cooperative held an emergency rally on 16 July to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to halt the Empire Wind offshore wind project that seafood industry stakeholders claim will put their livelihoods at risk.

Seafood industry stakeholders gathered at the event – many of whom were unionized employees of the market – said the project threatens their livelihoods and those in New York’s seafood industry. Fulton Fish Market Cooperative CEO Nicole Ackerina said the project will heavily damage the industry and push it out of the region.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Warmer waters are affecting fish and coral in Long Island Sound, experts say

August 7, 2023 — Warming waters are affecting a variety of marine life in Long Island Sound.

The sound is actually home to coral – the Northern Star Coral – and the species is helping New England scientists learn how warmer water linked to climate change might affect coral found in the tropics, too.

Shawn Grace, a marine ecologist and biology professor at southern Connecticut State University, is studying the long-term effects of Northern Star Coral that never went dormant last winter. He said temperatures were too high in Long Island Sound, so the coral stayed active.

“We brought some in just to check what they were feeding on. And yeah, they were actively feeding throughout the entire winter,” Grace told Connecticut Public’s “Where We Live.” “For me, this is the first winter that we’ve ever experienced this.”

Grace said there are thousands of colonies of corals to study – both in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island.

Read the full article nhpr

Great Meadows Marsh Project is Restoring Salt Marsh Habitat and Building Resilience in Coastal Connecticut

May 17, 2022 — Funding recovered from three pollution cases is supporting restoration of nearly 40 acres of salt marsh and other coastal habitats at Great Meadows Marsh. The marsh is located in the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Stratford, Connecticut. Through this effort, NOAA and partners are strengthening the climate resilience of this important coastal ecosystem.

Great Meadows Marsh lies immediately west of where the Housatonic River meets with Long Island Sound. Most other salt marshes in Connecticut, as well as many marshes along the Atlantic coast, were historically ditched to eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes. Great Meadows Marsh, however, is home to the largest remaining expanse of unditched salt marsh in Connecticut. The unditched condition of this marsh provides a healthier and more functional habitat overall.

Salt marshes provide habitat for fish and wildlife, trap pollution, and reduce damage from storms and flooding—important benefits  for local communities. The Great Meadows Marsh restoration effort will provide important habitat for fish, including spawning and nursery habitat for forage fish like Atlantic silverside, mummichog, and Atlantic menhaden. It will also help build the ecological resilience of the marsh to respond to increasing sea level rise.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries