NYSG’s Summer 2010 New York Coastlines is available as a pdf, both in its full print version (see sidebar at right) and as individual articles. For individual articles and back issues of New York Coastlines, click here.

From the Director

Welcome to New York Sea Grant’s (NYSG’s) summer New York Coastlines issue. I recently met with Stony Brook University President Samuel Stanley (pictured at right) to talk about NYSG and our important roles in coastal research and outreach in New York State. Since his arrival at Stony Brook nearly a year ago, President Stanley has prominently mentioned NYSG in several speeches and we greatly appreciate his support.

NYSG educators Helen Domske and Larissa Graham have both recently won awards for their outreach activities, as detailed on page 5. Helen’s work garnered two different awards from groups in the Buffalo region. Larissa, our Long Island Sound Study Outreach Coordinator, won an award for partnering NYSG with the New York State Marine Education Association to re-launch their website. The Northeast Sea Grant Programs recently held a regional meeting in the Hudson River Valley and I want to thank Bob Kent and Nordica Holochuck for planning and hosting this stimulating meeting. Bonnie Biel, our longtime main office administrative assistant, recently retired after nearly twenty years of exceptional service to NYSG and is greatly missed by our entire staff.

This issue of New York Coastlines highlights the important subject of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) in Great Lakes fish. VHSV has caused significant mortalities in several fish species, and has been an important focus of both NYSG research and outreach. Another article describes the increased abundance of ctenophores in Long Island’s Great South Bay, which when coupled with their high predation rates on clam larvae, suggests that ctenophores could limit the potential for recovery of the hard clam in this estuary. Finally, this issue concludes with short pieces describing NYSG’s online seafood safety courses and a NYSG-funded research project assessing winter flounder genetic stock structure using molecular methods. These are just the latest examples of how NYSG helps improve coastal New York living.