Production + Education Facilities

CCE Marine Program works throughout Suffolk County on a variety of water quality, shellfish enhancement, resource protection, species conservation, and habitat restoration projects. It is at our production facilities where shellfish are cultured, coastal plants are germinated and propagated, and eelgrass propagules are processed and stored for restoration activities. These site also serve as citizen science demonstration locations, enabling our experts and educators to engage the community in a variety of ongoing projects including the NYS Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Network and our Marine Meadows Program.

  • Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center (SCMELC)

    The Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center (SCMELC) in Southold is headquarters to the Marine Program's Aquaculture Program, including several shellfish hatcheries and nursery areas. The Suffolk Project of Aquaculture Training (SPAT) is a program people can join to learn to grow oysters and other shellfish in their backyard or at SCMELC. SCMELC is also headquarters to the Habitat Program, which specializes in restoring native marine grasses, the Water Quality Lab, and our Youth Education classroom and touch tank areas.

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  • Tiana Bayside Recreational Facility

    In order to better address the ever increasing need to engage and educate the public on issues relating to the marine and coastal environment, CCE Marine partnered with the Town of Southampton to develop an outreach and education center at the Tiana Bayside Facility. The facility now hosts a multitude of seasonal programming focused on marine science, coupled with STEAM Art + Education. The facility also hosts a coastal plant nursery and shellfish grow out area to aid in resource enhancement projects.

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  • Shelter Island Annex

    Cornell Marine Program has been working with the Town of Shelter Island for over 20 years, seeding approximately half a million clams, oysters, and scallops annually in town harvest waters. In 2022, we expanded upon those efforts by establishing a new remote setting tank for producing spat-on-shell oysters for reef restoration in Coecles Harbor. By including Shelter Island in our Back to the Bays network, we are able to significantly expand our shellfish enhancement work and include a multifaceted water quality improvement and habitat restoration program that will create a strong sense of community stewardship through education and involvement opportunities.

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  • Mattituck Annex

    In partnership with Strong’s Yacht Center, our Mattituck Inlet location serves as a shellfish nursery annex, where we growout our clams in FlUpSys (Floating Upweller Systems) prior to being planted at receiving sites. Operating the clam FlUpSys at this site results in highly successful survival and growth rates due to the inlet’s warm and protected waters.

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