Our new Redwood Facility in Sag Harbor is already serving nicely as a new shellfish nursery for growing out juvenile hard clams and spat-on-shell oysters!

Throughout the summer we monitored our Seahorse Hotels, which were deployed in the spring. Our Seahorse Conservation Team reflects on the diving experience and what species we have observed utilizing our habitat structures.

As we approach the colder fall months, our Habitat Team is getting ready to plant eelgrass in our existing restoration meadows, as well as some exciting new locations they’ve been scouting! Thanks to funding from the South Shore Estuary Reserve Program and Town of Southampton Community Preservation Fund

Back to the Bays intern, Rachel Kapllani, reflects on the conclusion of her marsh restoration raft research with us this summer!

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!

Back to the Bays intern, Rachel Kaplani, completed her senior thesis work with us this summer 2026. Curious about the interactions soil minerals, nutrients, and microorganisms have with plants and their root systems, Rachel has been developing and experimenting with growing methods for cultivating marsh grass, including floating “Restoration Rafts,” which allow grass roots to take up excess nutrients directly from our bays as they grow.

Kim Manzo and Kate Rossi-Snook give us an up close look at our 2026 Seahorse Hotel deployments in Greenport, Southold, Hampton Bays, and Sag Harbor/North Haven Stewardship Sites!

Funded by and in partnership with the South Shore Estuary Reserve Program, CCE Marine has been able to continue restoring “Blue Carbon” habitats, like eelgrass and marsh grass. Learn about how Blue Carbon habitats help mitigate climate change.

In partnership with Kidd Squid Brewing Co. we held a Seahorse Hotel workshop in Sag Harbor. These structures will be deployed in village waters to provide additional habitat for our local seahorse species.

Our Quogue Junior Ambassadors came out to help us deploy the first round of summer 2025 spat-on-shell oysters in our Quogue Oyster Reef (established summer 2024).

Kim and Kate head out to monitor our Quogue Oyster Reef, collect scientific data, and clean the spat-on-shell oysters growing in our restoration raft. It may have been a rainy day for our dedicated staff, but not for the oysters. The reef is absolutely thriving!