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n support of the Coast
Guard’s mission as
custodian of the marine environment, Flotilla 72 has focused its Marine Safety (MS) program on monitoring coastal water quality. This activity, begun in 2006, has proven to be of exceptional value to community environmental groups, to state and municipal government agencies and to the local shellfish industry.
The program was initiated in 2006 and spearheaded by Ralph Field FSO-MS who saw an opportunity for the Flotilla to partner with state and local environmental groups engaged in marine resource protection in Long Island Sound.
There was some precedence for the involvement of the Auxiliary in water quality monitoring. In 2004, Flotilla 22-01 from the Huntington-Northport Bay area was commended by the national Auxiliary leadership for its innovative activity in monitoring water quality in Huntington Harbor. This consisted of taking water samples while out on patrol in the area of Lloyd’s Harbor, and west of the entrance channel to Coast Guard Station Eatons Neck. The samples were then analyzed by an environmental research group. This was part of a larger “water logging” program that had broad participation from state, county and volunteer groups throughout Suffolk County.
Getting Started
An exploratory meeting was arranged with EPA’s Long Island Sound Study office to see how the capability and resoures
I
Eric Riznyk and Andre Pierre Louis deploy sensors to measure dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature at various depths
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