FoBB’s mission is to improve the water quality of Bellport Bay and the Great South Bay. Our primary activity is Operation Ecosystem Restoration (“OER”) which brings the community together and improves water quality, creates habitat and protects shoreline through a sustainable solution – shellfish restoration. We have been implementing OER since our inception in 2015, and have successfully and sustainably planted approximately 4.8 million shellfish.

Due to an oyster’s ability to filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, our successes have significantly cleaned the Bay, with approximately 240 million gallons of Bay water filtered per day (as of 2024). Our fundraising pays for equipment, water operations and scientific evaluation. We are proud to allocate over 85% of our budget directly towards our on-water programs. We partner with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCESC) for scientific evaluation, and with Brookhaven Town for a Marine Protected Area.

FoBB also sponsors community educational seminars on shellfish restoration and nitrogen pollution mitigation. Our initiatives benefit all of Suffolk County. Our success contributes to clean recreational use of the Bay by approximately 1 million people – enabling safe usage for swimming, sailing, snorkeling, paddle boarding, and fishing.

In Summary: We are turning the tide one shellfish at a time, and restoring the marine ecosystem of Bellport Bay for generations to come.

We are a Not-for-Profit 501(c)(3) organization created to help improve the water quality of Bellport Bay and the Great South Bay. We are committed to educating the public through seminars and on-water programs. Our strategies include the planting of oysters and shellfish to filter the water of Bellport Bay, communicating the importance of environmental stewardship, and the education of neighbors and residents to alternatives for high nitrogen lawn fertilizers.

Our success with shellfish planting has become increasingly important in light of the closing of the channel between the Bay and the Atlantic Ocean that was created in 2012 during Hurricane Superstorm Sandy. The Bellport Bay and Great South Bay water quality is at significant risk of deteriorating due to the lack of tidal flush that no longer exists as of 2022.

Under the direction of our Chief Scientist, Robert A. DiGiovanni Jr., a nationally recognized expert in the field of marine biology, and his team of specially trained staff and volunteers, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society conducts aerial surveys and live animal captures to collect and disseminate data to environmental managers, ensuring the long-term survival of critical members of our ocean ecosystems.  Our outreach programs at schools, in libraries, and for community centers educate the public about the impact we all have on the marine environment.

Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Ltd. is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, so contributions may be tax-deductible.

Our stranding response team has successfully responded to out-of-habitat situations, entanglements, and man-made disasters.  We seek to use these events to better understand our marine ecosystems.  For instance, the data collected from the tagging of stranded marine mammals and sea turtles provides insight into the effects of climate change, marine traffic, and other man-made changes in the environment.

What We Do:
·   Conduct health assessment projects on whales, dolphins, sea turtles and seals
·   Perform initial cold stun treatment on all classes of cold stunned sea turtles
·   Perform necropsies on large whales, seals, dolphins and sea turtles
·   Conduct live whale and dolphin rescues and captures
·   Respond to reports of strandings of seals, sea turtles, whales and dolphins
·   Perform air, sea, and land based data collection
·   Treat distressed and injured seals, dolphins and sea turtles
·   Conduct outreach and educational programs in the community