Shinnecock Bay
Highlighting the team behind the Shinnecock Bay Hope Spot - a marine project working to restore an entire marine ecosystem
In the summer of 2024 I photographed a team of marine biologists who are working to restore the Shinnecock Bay marine ecosystem on Long Island, in New York.
As a partnership with the Shinnecock Indian Nation, a team of marine biologists from Stoney Brook University. Led by Ellen Pikitch and Christine Santora (pictured above), the project is supported by ‘Her Deepness’, Sylvia Earle, who came out for a special media event to unveil DataXplorer, a 12-foot, solar-powered unmanned vessel that glides silently across the water, collecting fragments of DNA left behind by marine life.
The Bay
Shinnecock Bay, near Southampton, has long been a haven for wildlife - from finback whales to roseate terns. In 2022, Mission Blue named it a global Hope Spot, recognizing both its fragile beauty and its potential for renewal.
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The Nation
For the Shinnecock Indian Nation, the bay is ancestral home and living relative. Their traditions of fishing and stewardship stretch back thousands of years. Today, they are key partners in the restoration effort — bringing cultural knowledge and ensuring the work honors both ecology and heritage.
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The Vessel
Researchers from Stony Brook University and their partners are working to restore the bay’s health in inventive ways. Their latest tool is DataXplorer, a 12-foot, solar-powered vessel that glides silently across the water, collecting fragments of DNA left behind by marine life.
Instead of dragging nets along the seafloor – a destructive method that damages habitats – this vessel samples the water itself. In doing so, it captures a fuller picture of the bay’s creatures, from the tiniest invertebrates to larger fish that would otherwise be missed.
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The Leader
The project is led by scientists Ellen Pikitch and Kelsey Leonard, with marine operations overseen by Madeline Bouvier-Brown. Conservation icon Sylvia Earle joined the launch, underscoring the vessel’s potential to reshape marine research far beyond Long Island.
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The Hope
The work is part of a broader effort to heal Shinnecock Bay, which suffered decades of pollution and algae blooms. By improving water clarity and restoring habitats for shellfish, the team hopes to bring back the bay’s natural balance – and to set an example for coastal communities worldwide.
As Pikitch says:
“If this can work here, it can work in a lot of places around the world.”
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With thanks to Ellen Pikitch, Stony Brook University, The Explorers Club, Elinchrom, Oliphant Studio, Magnus Karlsson, Sequoyah Wildwyn-Dechter and Tushar Khandelwal