Environmental Concerns
The rapid population growth around the shores of Great South Bay has led to numerous environmental problems. Eel grass beds, an important habitat for many fish species, have been lost from the western reaches of Great South Bay, in particular where the waste water treatment plants of the western communities pollute the bay. In the mid-bay and eastern part of the bay, storm water runoff, which contains pollutants and excess nitrogen from fertilized lawns and inefficient septic systems, has led to increases in algae and other pollution-related issues.
In the late nineteenth century Great South Bay provided many of the clams consumed throughout the region and even the country. The first oysters to be exported from the US to Europe came from Great South Bay. By the latter 20th century, a significant percentage of the habitat was lost and the clam population was dramatically reduced, devastating the neighboring communities that depended on it. In the 19th century thousands of baymen worked the waters of Great South Bay. Now, only a scant few can be seen.
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