New York Coastlines — December 2025 • Volume 53, No. 3
NY Coastlines—New York Sea Grant (NYSG)'s flagship publication—and its news archive, Currents, highlight news, events and other activities from our coastal program's various research, extension and education endeavors throughout New York's marine and Great Lakes waters.
West Meadow Beach, Fall 2020. Credit: Becky Shuford
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Letter from the Director
Welcome to New York Sea Grant’s (NYSG) winter, and last of 2025, edition of NY Coastlines!
As we reflect on the successes of the past year (and what a year it has been!), NYSG would like to open this edition by taking a moment to express our profound appreciation to each of you for all of your support and partnership. It is not hyperbole to say that we would not be here without you. THANK YOU!
Now, we invite you to get a cup of hot cocoa and dive in to explore a sampling of what NYSG has been up to the past few months. As you do, you will notice we are trying on a new, more streamlined look for NY Coastlines. Of course, you will find that the content still includes the stories and highlights of NYSG’s community-based programming you look forward to. There is also a new “save the date” section announcing upcoming events and opportunities for engagement and learning to get on your calendars, and to kick off the New Year with a refreshing splash. As you make your way through, we welcome you to provide feedback on your reading experience with the new format. You can do so via the following email: nyseagrant@stonybrook.edu.
As we say good-bye to 2025 and usher in 2026, the NYSG family wishes you and yours a very happy holiday season. We look forward to continuing to work together with you to ensure another impactful year of “Bringing Science to the Shore” for all of New York’s coastal communities.
With deep gratitude,
Becky
In the Spotlight
Feature
A flooded road next to the Wallkill River after a heavy rain event on April 20, 2023.
MyCoast New York
Developed by New York Sea Grant and Cornell's New York State Water Resources Institute, this photo-sharing platform encourages New Yorkers to upload pictures of flooding, storm impacts, and litter to help track and understand changes in our waterways. Learn more >>
Related:
• Flood Watch New York: Documenting Local Flooding and Storm Impacts Through Community Science (pdf) fact sheet
• Flood Watch New York: Volunteers Needed! (pdf) flyer
Help document flooding and storm damage
• MyCoast NY: Documenting Local Flooding and Storm Impacts Through Community Science (pdf) fact sheet
• MyCoast NY: Volunteers Needed! (pdf) flyer
Help document local flooding and storm impacts through community science
More on NYSG's resilience efforts ...
Northport Village trustee Dave Weber and Mayor Donna Koch in a harborfront parking lot prone to flooding. Credit: Rick Kopstein/Newsday
LI Sound Resilience Planning
A total of 14 coastal communities in the Long Island Sound region— 9 in NY and 5 in CT — have been awarded planning support to advance resilience-focused projects. Now a new round of applications has opened, with up to $1.5 million in funding available. Learn more >>
A view of a partially submerged car on E. 7th Rd in Jamaica Bay, Queens.
Community Flood Fellows
After presenting at a forum this past summer, many participants in this Fellowship program are planning next steps to continue combating flooding in their communities throughout the Jamaica Bay region. Learn more >>
Coastal flooding (on December 23, 2022) due to storm surge inundates the Poughkeepsie waterfront at high tide. Credit: Europa McGovern via MyCoast NY
Dynamic Shorelines
New outreach programs for NY’s Hudson and Long Island regions have been developed as a result of this NYSG resiliency-building project to guide local leaders toward more resilient shoreline and floodplain management choices. Learn more >>
A bioswale installation reduces flooding and filters stormwater runoff in a village along New York’s Great Lakes shoreline. Credit: Mary Austerman/NYSG
Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Crosswalk
Designed to support communities who want to advance in the CSC Certification program, this tool spotlights opportunities to earn points while reducing the time, effort, and cost of taking action. It consisting of 8 PDF documents and 6 online surveys and is designed to show potential overlaps between the CSC Certification program and 6 water-focused programs in New York State. The goal is to help communities save time, energy, and money by exploring opportunities for achieving points for CSC certification actions. Learn more >>
NYSG Currents
Save the Date
Read about upcoming events throughout the NY Sea Grant network ...
• Office Hours Series: NYSG's seafood and aquaculture-focused webinars return in 2026, with the first virtual event scheduled for 1/22. Learn more >>
• 2026 Seafood HACCP Trainings: 2/10 (Division of Marine Resources, Kings Park, NY); 4/28 (Virtual); 8/11 (Stony Brook Innovation and Discovery Center, Stony Brook, NY); 12/8 (Virtual). Registration required. Learn more >>
• Oyster Shucking Workshop: Join NYSG at North Fork Brewery in Riverhead (2/27), where a NY oyster farmer will show you how to shuck your own oysters. Learn more >>
• Seafood Summit: 2026 dates for downstate (3/27), midstate (4/8), upstate (4/9) events. Learn more >>
• Aquatic Food Conference: Registration will open in the New Year for this NYSG-hosted conference (5/19-20) in Long Beach, NY Learn more >>
What's Trending
• Education Workshop Round-up:
— NYSG's Fall 2025 series on Long Island Sound Learn more >>
— Summer 2025 series on NY's Great Lakes Learn more >>
• NYSG Specialists Honored: Assemblyman Manktelow recognized two NYSG Great Lakes specialists for dune project expertise. Project reduces flood risks along Sodus Point village streets Learn more >>
• A Guide to Permitting Shoreline Modification Projects in New York’s Tidal Waters: This guide is for permit applicants using the New York State Joint Application for shoreline construction or modification, ranging from major to minor projects. Learn more >>
• Aquaculture 101: Fact sheet focuses on aquaculture, the cultivation of finfish, aquatic plants, and shellfish. Learn more >>
• Protecting Coastal Bluffs of Long Island: A sign is available for municipalities, community groups, homeowner associations and property owners to print and install next to your bluff. Postcards are also available for distribution. Learn more >>
Program Highlights
Note: Read more NYSG research, extension, and education highlights via NYSG’s news archive→
Research
Scallop. Credit: Stephen Tettelbach
Peconic Bay Scallop Symposium
The symposium served as an update for stakeholders and members of the public alike about the causes of the Peconic bay scallop mass mortality, an ongoing problem that has negatively impacted the Long Island scallop industry that used to annually contribute millions of dollars to the local economy. Learn More >>
Oyster Biology Points to Dangers of Plastic Pollution
New evidence points to the risk posed by plastic pollution in marine ecosystems. Learn more >>
The Plastic at the Bottom of the Lake
Scientists have been studying what is happening to the muddy bottoms of lakes, streams, and rivers as they get invaded by plastic pollution. Learn more >>
Extension
Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima) at Lazy Point Farms (on March 15, 2022). Credit: Mike Martinsen
Seaweed Initiatives
NYSG’s seaweed-related materials offer guidance, tools, and information to support stakeholders throughout the seaweed value chain. Learn more>>
Microfibers
Microfibers are one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution in our environments. Researchers have found microfibers in air, water, soil, food, and humans. So, how do microfibers enter the environment? A fact sheet, as well as additional NYSG resources, offers details. Learn more >>
Lake Ontario Landowners
NYSG updated the Your Septic System folder, originally developed by Cornell Cooperative Extension, to help NY Great Lakes residents learn how a septic system works, how to maintain it, how to prevent and recognize problems, records they should keep, and where to go for more help. Learn more >>
Lake Ontario homeowners can find other helpful information to help manage their property. Learn more >>
Education
Isabel Hahl measures mussels at Tonawanda Creek in Rapids, NY. Hahl partnered with University at Buffalo researchers to investigate native freshwater mussel habitat feasibility. She also worked with NYSG Literacy Specialist Nate Drag to create a freshwater mussel lesson plan for local educators. Credit: Isabel Hahl
2025 CEI Fellowships
This past summer, NYSG provided eight students with the unique opportunity statewide to work with scientists, community groups and government agencies through the Community Engaged Internship. Fellows gained hands-on work experience in their fields of interest, engaging with stakeholders and the public while they worked on projects with their mentors and NYSG partners. Learn more>> | In Their Own Words >>
2025 Law and Policy Fellowships
This year, NYSG supported two law and policy students through the New York Coastal Resilience Law and Policy Fellowship, which provide students with real life policy challenges to which they can apply their legal skills while providing coastal communities with law and policy information on those challenges. Learn more >>
Vol. 13, No. 2
Keep tabs on NYSG's news in between issues of NY Coastlines / Currents via our Web site (www.nyseagrant.org).
The items below represent a sampling of other stories that have made waves recently in the media, on our social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, X, BlueSky, Instagram, YouTube) and via our site's News (www.nyseagrant.org/currents) and topic-based News Archives (www.nyseagrant.org/currentsarchive) sections ...
A past NY Great Lakes Basin Small Grants award provided funding to the Thousand Islands Land Trust to restore more than 155 acres of former farmland to native grassland, enhancing habitat for grassland-nesting birds and wintering raptors. Credit: Thousand Islands Land Trust
NYSG Research > Statewide
Research Annual Report (January 2025) Learn more >>
Summaries for a selection of NYSG-funded research projects and some of the published scientific articles related to the studies.
Surfclams Offer Clues About the Numerous Ways Climate Change is Affecting Ocean Life (January 2025) Learn more >>
Changes in seasonal temperature may be affecting ocean life, in some cases years after exposure in impacts which scientists call “carryover effects.” One organism that could be affected is the iconic surfclam, an economically important shellfish.
In Photos: Researchers See a Valuable Commodity in Seaweed (December 2024) Learn more >>
In a NYSG-funded research project, investigators led by Dr. Christopher Gobler are working on improving cultivation techniques for Gracilaria tikvahiae, a potentially valuable plant-like algae that grows in the sea.
Extensive Review of the Natural Enemies of Zebra and Quagga Mussels Is Published (May 2024) Learn more >>
Scientists recently published an 80-page review of all of the known natural enemies of zebra and quagga mussels.
The Oyster: A Key Species in Urban Environmental Renewal (May 2024) Learn more >>
Dr. Matthew Hare, working on a project funded by New York Sea Grant, assembled an interdisciplinary team to study aspects of oyster biology that matter crucially for restoration.
NYSG Extension and Education > Statewide > Seafood & Aquaculture
NYSG's Seafood Guides Learn more >>
Now in English and Spanish
On YouTube: New York Farm Service Agency's NAP & ELAP Disaster Relief Programs (May 2025) Learn more >>
Seaweed Webinar Series (April-July 2025) Learn more >>
In Spring 2025, NYSG began a webinar series to review seaweed related food safety and the development of a new Seaweed Hazards and Controls Guide. Highlighted throughout the series are the efforts of a USDA-funded Food Safety Outreach Program award entitled “Developing a Hazards and Controls Guide to Support Safe Seaweed Production and Marketing”. Webinars include: (a) Seaweed Food Safety Regulations (April 2025); (b) Biological Hazards (June 2025); (c) Chemical Hazards (July 2025).
New York Sea Grant Kelp Value Added Processing Report (April 2024) (pdf)
This report features findings from pilot studies exploring the transportation and processing of sugar kelp grown in New York waters. Learn more >>
NYSG Extension and Education > Marine Waters > Partnerships
On YouTube: MyCoast NY — Program updates and Open Forum Featuring Litter Watch and MARCO (September 2025) Learn more >>
Survey Shows Most View Long Island Sound Positively, Though Awareness Lacking (August 2025) Learn more >>
A Sea Grant-led survey of more than 3,700 Connecticut and New York residents shows the majority view Long Island Sound as a major asset to the quality of life and economy of the region.
Virtually Spotlighting The Marine Heritage Trail (December 2024) Learn more >>
With funding from NYSG, the organizers created the Marine Heritage Trail website in order to educate the public and tourists to the local region about the maritime ecosystem around New York City and Long Island.
Note: More Currents coming soon for this section
NYSG Extension and Education > Great Lakes Waters
NYSG and NYSDEC Announce Nearly $200K in Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Project Awards (July 2025) Learn more >>
$2 Million have been invested since 2015 to support projects that enhance the health and resilience of New York State’s Great Lakes lands and waters
Two NY Teachers Selected Among 15 in the Great Lakes for 2025 Shipboard Science Immersion (July 2025) Learn more >>
Science teachers Beth Tucker and Jennifer Crane are among the 15 across the Great Lakes to join Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL) staff and Great Lakes scientists to work aboard an EPA research vessel (R/V) for a week.
NYSG Updates Dogs and Harmful Algal Blooms Resources (July 2025) Learn more >>
NYSG has issued updated information to help dog owners protect their pets from exposure to harmful algal blooms. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 4.5 percent of U.S. households were home to at least one dog in 2024.
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Sea Grant is a national network of 34 university-based programs whose research, extension and outreach programs promote better understanding, conservation and use of America's coastal resources. New York Sea Grant (NYSG) has been "Bringing Science to the Shore" since 1971 as a joint program of the State University of New York (SUNY) and Cornell University.
New York Coastlines is a product of NYSG project C/PC-15 funded under award NA24OARX417C0158-T1-01 granted to the Research Foundation for SUNY on behalf of NYSG from the National Sea Grant College Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.