Stony Brook, NY, January 24, 2011 - How does Long Island Sound measure up? Find out in the Sound Health 2010 report (pdf). 

The document uses environmental indicators of the Sound’s health in the areas of water quality, coastal and aquatic animal populations, habitats, and land use. It’s an opportunity to learn about whether fish are safe to eat, if the water is getting cleaner, how land use decisions affect water quality, and more. The report also highlights  features on local research on the causes of harmful algal blooms, the impact of oil spills on Long Island Sound, and advice on how the public can help protect a body of water that’s home to millions of people and a hundreds of species of fish, invertebrates, coastal birds and other animals.

"Sound Health is a wonderful tool that LISS has developed to update watershed residents on water quality, animal and plant populations, and land use around the Sound," says Larissa Graham, New York Sea Grant's Long Island Sound Study Outreach Coordinator. "This year, I'm especially excited about the Indicators tool that allows Web users to take a closer look at the data sets that are highlighted in Sound Health."

Long Island Sound Health 2010 is available as a download (see "Related Info" box at right). Printed copies are also available through EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications's Web site.

Long Island Sound is one of 28 nationally-designated estuaries under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Estuary Program, established by Congress in 1987 to improve the quality of Long Island Sound and other places where rivers meet the sea.

If you would like to receive Long Island Sound Study's newsletter, please visit their homepage and sign up for the "print newsletter" under the "Stay Connected" box.

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New York Sea Grant is part of a nationwide network of 32 university-based programs that work with coastal communities. The National Sea Grant College Program engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training, and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources.