CCE Marine staff and volunteer stewards enjoyed paddling out to help deploy Bay Scallops in our Tiana Bay Shellfish Sanctuary!

This work has been funded in part through our Town of Southampton Community Preservation Fund Water Quality Improvement grant, and through the generous support provided to our Hampton Bays Stewardship Site Fund.

Back to the Bays had been busy this summer working to restore oyster reef habitats on Shelter Island and engaging the public every step of the way!

2025 marks the 10-Year Anniversary of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Back to the Bays Initiative!

Shellfish 101 - first Stewardship Session of the season

When the 2023 scallop season opened in New York State waters on Monday, November 6, it seemed like the East End harvest was going to be a meager one for the fifth consecutive year – but Shelter Island’s baymen and residents joyously embraced a few bountiful days once town waters opened the following week.