A committee of the Peconic Estuary Partnership is calling on the state to fund more research and additional staffing at the State Department of Environmental Conservation to better understand the adult scallop die-off in the Peconic Bays last year.
The DEC last month said the die-off, which decimated the adult bay scallop population, is associated with the presence of a coccidian parasite in the scallops. But environmental factors linked to climate change were likely “an extremely important contributing factor,” according to a new report from a technical committee of the Peconic Estuary Partnership.
“Parasite-driven mortality is often worsened by a combination of stressors and some of the environmental factors causing stress on bay scallops in 2019 may have included rapidly increasing water temperatures, sustained high water temperatures, changes in pH, and low dissolved oxygen levels,” Peconic Bay Scallop Technical Review Committee said in a report released yesterday.
The bay is now experiencing the effects of climate change, the committee said, and understanding the effects of changing species regimes is essential, the report says.
Warmer water temperatures and currents last year brought new predators to the Peconic Bay waters in the form of the cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus. DEC trawl surveys and anecdotal information from laymen indicated increased populations of cownose rays in specific locations around the estuary, according to the committee’s report.
The increasing loss of eelgrass over the past decades may be a contributing factor to scallop survival, the committee said. The eelgrass decline means a decline in nursery habitat for juvenile scallops, which in turn affects the population’s ability to fully recover from the die-off.
The committee recommends prioritizing restoration of existing eelgrass beds and looking into using seed sources from warmer, southern areas. An eelgrass management plan should address warmer waters, light attenuation and shoreline hardening, the committee said.
The committee recommended specific areas of further research, including further research into coccidian infection of bay scallops, increased monitoring of water temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels, and increased monitoring of the scallop population itself.
The committee recommended that the DEC prioritize filling a vacancy in the position of eelgrass specialist.
It also recommended increasing the personnel in the DEC’s Division of Marine Shellfish.
Support for the Peconic Estuary Program should also be increased, the report said.
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