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Importance
of the Bay
Boating
Fishing
and Shellfishing
Marinas
and Yacht Clubs
Wildlife
Wetlands
Based on information contained in the Town of North Hempstead’s
preliminary draft Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (Cashin,
1993), Manhasset Bay is used extensively for a variety of recreational
activities that include boating, rowing, some limited swimming,
water-skiing, wind surfing, jet-skiing, fishing, waterfowl hunting,
shoreline walking, waterfront dining, dinner boat cruises and water
taxis. The nautical character of portions of the Bay also provides
aesthetically pleasing shorefront viewing. The following is a brief
discussion of the uses and ecological features of the Bay based
on information contained in the preliminary draft Local Waterfront
Revitalization Plan.
Boating
Moorings and marinas occupy a large and prominent portion
of Manhasset Bay. Recreational boating is the predominant activity
with approximately 2,000 boats in the Bay either at marinas or yacht
clubs or with beach associations and private moorings permitted
by the Town under Chapter 42. Table 1.3-1 presents an
approximate breakdown of an estimated 1,592 boats associated with
a number of different boating facilities, yacht clubs and marinas.
This estimate is exclusive of private moorings, private docks and
visiting boats. While there are no charter fishing boats that operate
in the Bay, recently water taxis have become popular as a means
of boosting tourism in the Bay and the local economy. The water
taxis, which run between various docks are an attempt by local businesses
to make it easier for residents and visitors to move between water,
land, restaurants and shops.
courtesy of www.sonar.org
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Fishing
and Shellfishing
Manhasset
Bay is a productive area for marine finfish with recreational fishing
being a popular sport both within the Bay and in the nearby waters
of the Long Island Sound. Small boats can be rented on a daily basis
from a few private businesses located in the vicinity of the Town
of North Hempstead Town dock. The Bay serves as a nursery and feeding
area from spring through fall for striped bass, scup, bluefish,
Atlantic silverside, menhaden, winter flounder, and blackfish.
winter flounder (Pseudopleorunectes americanus)
The
direct harvest of shellfish from Manhasset Bay has been prohibited
by the State since the early 1970s due to the bacterial levels in
the Bay exceeding the State’s water quality standards for shellfishing.
Degraded bacterial water quality in the Bay has existed since
the 1920s and has been attributed in large part to increased development.
In fact, in 1925, the State closed 2,500 acres (essentially
the entire Bay) of oyster beds. The closure was due to an outbreak
of typhoid that was linked to oysters that had been taken from the
Bay. These early problems
were experienced in spite of the construction of a wastewater treatment
plant in Port Washington almost a decade earlier.
In the early 1990s, the Town conducted a one time clam transplanting/relay
program, in cooperation with NYSDEC, for harvest, transport and
depuration. The State fisheries group has monitored the Bay for
years for bacterial quality. Indications from the State are that
it is unlikely to allow harvesting in the near future, because of
excessive levels of coliform, particularly after rainfall.
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MARINAS
AND YACHT CLUBS
Table
1.3-1
MARINAS
AND YACHT CLUBS IN THE
MANHASSET
BAY WATERSHED
|
Rank
|
Name/Location
|
Estimated
Number of
Moorings and Slips
|
|
1
|
Manhasset
Bay Marina/Port Washington
|
285
|
|
2
|
Capri
Marina West/Manorhaven
|
220
|
|
3
|
North
Hempstead Town Dock*/Port Washington
|
160
|
|
4
|
Capri
Marina East/Manorhaven
|
140
|
|
5
|
Toms
Point Marina/Port Washington
|
135
|
|
6
|
Knickerbocker
Yacht Club/Port Washington
|
120
|
|
7
|
Sigsbee
at North Bay/Port Washington
|
100
|
|
8
|
W&W
Marine White’s Marina/Port Washington
|
94
|
|
9
|
Port
Washington Yacht Club/Port Washington
|
85
|
|
10
|
North
Shore Yacht Club/Port Washington
|
80
|
|
11
|
Haven
Marina, Inc./Port Washington
|
55
|
|
12
|
Shelter
Harbor Marina/Yacht Club/Kings Point
|
37
|
|
13
|
Capri
Marina at Inspiration Wharf/Port Washington
|
35
|
|
14
|
Grace
Harbor Yacht Club/Kings Point
|
16
|
|
15
|
Kings
Point House
|
12
|
|
16
|
Louie’s
Shore Restaurant/Port Washington
|
11
|
|
17
|
Kennilworth
Yacht Club/Kings Point
|
7
|
|
18
|
Broadlawn
Harbor Yacht Club/Kings Point
|
|
|
19
|
Manhasset
Bay Yacht Club/Port Washington
|
NA
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
1,592
|
Based
on July 1998 telephone contact.
*Public facility; all others are private.
NA
= Not available
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Wildlife
According
to the New York State’s Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat Rating
Form, Manhasset Bay is one of five major waterfowl wintering areas
(November through March) on Long Island’s north shore. Mid-winter
aerial surveys of waterfowl abundance for the 10‑year period
1975 to 1984 indicate yearly average concentrations of over 1,100
birds. This includes scaup, canvasbacks and black ducks, along with
mallards, Canada goose, common goldeneye, bufflehead, oldsquaw and
red-breasted merganser.
The tidal flats and intertidal marsh areas in the Bay support
a large summer population of wading shorebirds and waterfowl including:
Mute Swans; Common Egrets; Snowy Egrets; Double-crested Cormorants;
Great Blue Herons; Least Sandpipers; Sanderlings; Mallards; Laughing
Gulls; and Herring Gulls. The entire Manhasset Bay area has been
designated by the New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) as
a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat. In addition, the
area is important for passive recreational use for wildlife/bird
watching.
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Wetlands
and Special Habitats
Wetlands
are an important part of the Manhasset Bay ecosystem serving numerous
functions. While there are many definitions for what constitutes
wetlands, one definition is that of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USCOE, 1995) which states that wetlands are “those areas that are
inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency
and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances
do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adopted for life
in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps,
marshes, bogs and similar areas.” In recent years, the importance
of the functions and values associated with wetlands have been recognized.
See Table 1.3-2.
The
degree of public interest in protecting, restoring and creating
wetlands has grown significantly in the last decade to the point
that today there is a heightened educational awareness of the importance
of wetlands through various curricula, posters, videos, slides,
magazines,
Table
1.3-2
FUNCTION
AND VALUES OF WETLANDS*
|
Function/Value
|
Description
|
|
Functions:
|
|
|
Groundwater
Recharge/Discharge
|
This function considers the potential for a wetland
to serve as a groundwater recharge and/or discharge area.
Recharge should relate to the potential for the wetland to
contribute water to an aquifer. Discharge should relate to
the potential for the wetland to serve as an area where groundwater
can be discharged to the surface.
|
|
Floodflow
Alteration
(Storage and Desynchronization)
|
This function considers the effectiveness of the
wetland in reducing flood damage by attenuation of floodwaters
for prolonged periods following precipitation events.
|
|
Fish
and Shellfish Habitat
|
This function considers the effectiveness of seasonal
or permanent waterbodies associated with the wetland in question
for fish and shellfish habitat.
|
|
Sediment/Toxicant/Pathogen
Retention
|
This function reduces or prevents degradation of
water quality. It related to the effectiveness of the wetland
as a trap for sediments, toxicants or pathogens.
|
|
Nutrient
Removal/Retention/
Transformation
|
This function relates to the effectiveness of the
wetland to prevent adverse effects of excess nutrients entering
aquifers or surface waters such as ponds, lakes, streams,
rivers or estuaries.
|
|
Production
Export (Nutrient)
|
This function relates to the effectiveness of the
wetland to produce food or usable products for human or other
living organisms.
|
|
Sediment/Shoreline
Stabilization
|
This function relates to the effectiveness of a wetland
to stabilize stream banks and shorelines against erosion.
|
|
Wildlife
Habitat
|
This function considers the effectiveness of the
wetland to provide habitat for various types and populations
of animals typically associated with wetlands and the wetland
edge. Both resident and/or migrating species must be considered.
Species lists of observed and potential animals should be
included in the wetland assessment report.
|
Table
1.3-2 (continued)
FUNCTION
AND VALUES OF WETLANDS*
|
Function/Value
|
Description
|
|
Values:
|
|
|
Recreation
(Consumptive and Nonconsumptive)
|
This value considers the effectiveness of the wetland
and associated watercourses to provide recreational opportunities
such as canoeing, boating, fishing, hunting and other active
or passive recreational activities. Consumptive opportunities
consume or diminish the plants, animals or other resources
that are intrinsic to the wetland, whereas nonconsumptive
opportunities do not.
|
|
Education/Scientific
Value
|
This value considers the effectiveness of the wetland
as a site for an “outdoor classroom” or as a location for
scientific study or research.
|
|
Uniqueness/Heritage
|
This value relates to the effectiveness of the wetland
or its associated waterbodies to produce certain special values.
Special values may include such things as archeological sites,
unusual aesthetic quality, historical events, or unique plants,
animals or geologic features, etc.
|
|
Visual
Quality/Aesthetics
|
This value relates to the visual and aesthetic qualities
of the wetland.
|
|
Threatened
or Endangered Species Habitat
|
This value relates to the effectiveness of the wetland
or associated waterbodies to support threatened or endangered
species.
|
*Based
on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, November 1995.
books
and other documents dealing with wetlands (USEPA, 1994) including
local environmental groups preparing handbooks on habitat restoration
in and around Long Island Sound (Save the Sound, 1998).
The United States Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) maintains a national wetlands inventory of both freshwater
and marine wetlands. Figure 1.3‑1 presents a map of the freshwater
and marine wetlands in Manhasset Bay and its watershed based on
FWS’s 1994 map for the area, as well as those wetlands designated
by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
A review of this information indicates that there are numerous clusters
and small patches of wetlands in the watershed. Based on the U.S.
Department of the Interior’s 1994 National Wetlands Inventory by
the Fish and Wildlife Service, Table 1.3‑3 indicates the wetland
type found in the communities in the watershed. Except for a few
isolated patches, most of the wetlands are found clustered in six
general areas. These general areas are:
·
North and East Sheets Creek, Mill Pond and Baxter
Pond
·
Leeds Pond and portions of its tributary streams
·
Whitney Pond and portions of its tributary stream
·
Twin Ponds (South Pond/Mann’s Creek)
·
Mitchell Creek and Kings Point Park
·
Kings Point Pond (Wilson’s Creek)
A number of bulkheads, seawalls and revetments have been
constructed along certain sections of the Bay’s shoreline. In some
of these sections, the vegetated areas of intertidal wetland have
been reduced to isolated patches and narrow fringes generally bordering
the protected southern side of coastal structures.
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