Crescent Beach Park Shellfish in New York City - Crescent Beach
Crescent Beach is located on Staten Island, in the neighborhood
of Great Kills. At one time, the waters of this area were filled
with boats attempting to harvest shellfish. Today, such boats
are a rare sight in the harbor. As New York’s population grew,
so did the amount of human waste and industrial pollution being
discharged into the City’s waters. Critical wildlife habitat was
rapidly destroyed for industrial and residential development,
and remaining shellfish habitats were harvested beyond their
capacity. The once-thriving New York shellfish industry came to
an abrupt end as a result of human influence, and today, people
are forbidden to eat any shellfish taken from New York Harbor.
Many species of shellfish inhabit New York Harbor, such as
oysters, mussels, and clams. The hard-shell clam (Mercenaria
mercenaria), also called the quahog, was originally sacred to
many Native Americans, who made currency (wampum) by cutting
beads out of the pur