Horseshoe Crab Abundance
This indicator shows the abundance of Horseshoe Crabs in Connecticut and New York. View Indicator
Status and Trends: LISS Environmental Indicators
Type of Indicators: Health/Condition Response/Performance Socio-Economic Historical/Background
Marine and Coastal Animals
Marine and coastal animal indicators include species of finfish, marine invertebrates, and coastal birds. The abundance of selected species is used to assess the overall health of populations and their habitats in the Sound. Measuring the value of commercial fisheries helps to evaluate the economic importance of the Sound.
Invertebrates (including shellfish)
Lobster Abundance
Lobster has historically been an important fishery in Long Island Sound but populations have declined in recent years. This indicator is a fisheries-independent estimation of their abundance in the Sound. View Indicator
Lobster Landings
This indicator reports the number of lobsters taken from traps by commercial lobsterman in Long Island Sound. View Indicator
Approved Shellfish Acreage
This measure indicates whether water quality conditions in tidal rivers and coastal waters can support recreational and commercial shellfishing of oysters and clams. View Indicator
Hard Clam Harvest
This indicator reports the number of bushels of hard clams harvested commercially each year in Long Island Sound. View Indicator
Oyster Harvest
This indicator reports the number of oysters harvested commercially each year in Long Island Sound View Indicator
Finfish
Spawning Runs in LIS tributaries
Index of Anadromous Fish Runs
These counts of river herring and shad in Long Island Sound tributaries indicate the quality of upstream habitat that has been opened up as a result of completed fishway projects. View Indicator
Herring Runs at Streams with Upstream Planned Fishway Projects
These counts indicate progress in expanding upstream habitat as fishway projects are completed. View Indicator
Atlantic Salmon Restoration in the CT River
This indicator is the abundance of Atlantic salmon counted at observation stations in the Connecticut River from 1967-2009. View Indicator
Fish Populations in Long Island Sound
Forage Fish – Open Water/CT Coastline
The forage indices measures the productivity of small fish in the Sound, which is the basis of the food supply for larger fish, including game fish. View Indicator
Finfish Biomass Index/Species Richness
Fish biomass indicates the productivity of the Long Island Sound fishery. Species richness measures the diversity of species supported within the Sound's various habitats. View Indicator
Game Fish
The abundance of game fish is a reflection of the productivity of Long Island Sound and the effectiveness of coast-wide fishery management plans that seek to stabilize populations while maximizing harvest opportunities. View Indicator
Water Temperature
Yearly seasonal temperatures from 1976-2011, measured in Niantic Bay by the Millstone Environmental Lab. View Indicator
Shad & Blueback Herring—Long Island Sound
Abundance of American shad and blueback herring, as reported in the Long Island Sound Trawl Survey. View Indicator
Coastal Birds
Least Terns
The Least Tern is the smallest of American Terns. They are migratory birds that breed along marine and estuarine shores of the United States. Their abundance indicates the quality of coastal habitat and quantity of forage fish available for food. View Indicator
Piping Plovers
Piping plovers are small shorebirds that nest on the beaches of Long Island Sound. The abundance of breeding pairs reflects availability of beach nesting habitat and management efforts to protect nesting pairs from human intrusion, storm tides and predators. View Indicator
Osprey
Osprey are one of the largest birds of prey in North America, and found throughout the world. Their population was seriously affected by pesticides such as DDT in the 1950s and 1960s. Populations recovered due to the ban on DDT and management efforts to increase available habitat. Populations have recovered to the point where state conservationists have stopped tracking their numbers. View Indicator
Colonial Waterbirds
Colonial waterbirds nest primarily in groups on islands along the Atlantic coast and often feed on estuarine fish and invertebrates. The abundance of these birds indicates the ability of local salt marshes to provide a habitat for the colonial waterbirds' prey. View Indicator