Tag Archives: bayman Sawyer Clark

Peconic Bay Scallop: After disappointing seasons in 2019, ’20, the outlook remains bleak

Last week, Steve Tettelbach, head of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Peconic Bay Scallop Restoration Program, finished up a series of dives at the seven sites from Flanders to Montauk,,, “At six of our seven sites, the average density declined by 64% to 99% between May and late August, and the highest die-off occurred at the three sites with the highest initial densities in spring 2021,” Mr. Tettelbach said. Only the site in Napeague Harbor saw an increase in bay scallop numbers over the course of the summer. Bay scallops in New York waters are supposed to live about 18 months. Why have bay scallops in the Peconic Bay system died months prematurely en masse for three years in a row? >click to read< 16:04

On the water with bayman Sawyer Clark

When Sawyer Clark turned 16, he bought a boat and went into the family business: fishing. In the four years since, he has graduated from high school, given college a try and returned to the profession he was born for, despite having a pretty good idea of how dangerous and unpredictable the life of a bayman is. “I tried to stay out, but I fell in love with it,” he said. The Clark family has been fishing on the East End for so long, Clark’s great-great-grandfather took scallops in Peconic Bay with a sailboat before motors were used. >click to read<09:38