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Outdoors

On the Water: A Fee for Saltwater Fishing Permits?

If you fish in saltwater in New York and are over the age of 16, you must possess a free Department of Environmental Conservation marine registry permit. But now the marine registry may soon cease to exist, as the D.E.C. is considering a fee-based license for fishing in the state’s marine waters.

Sep 14, 2023
On the Water: Fair Winds, Jimmy

Jimmy Buffett, who had a house on North Haven, loved the waters of the East End, whether surfing, sailing, or fishing.

Sep 7, 2023
On the Water: Bleak Outlook for Scallops

The outlook for the bay scallop season, which is set to start in early November, is once again poor. For the fifth summer in a row, there has been a significant die-off of mature bay scallops in local waters.

Aug 31, 2023
On the Wing: Epic Summer for Rare Birds at Mecox

Just over the lip of the dune bordering the lot at Scott Cameron Beach is one of the most important habitat areas for shorebirds on the entire East End: Mecox Inlet.

Aug 31, 2023
On the Water: Grab a Crab at Rehab

A cooler of blue-claws for a new friend in cardiac rehab might mark the first time the tasty shellfish have paid a visit to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

Aug 22, 2023
On the Water: Head East for Fish

The direction you want to go during the August heat is east. “Whether it’s striped bass, bluefish, fluke, porgies, sea bass, or tuna, the fish now prefer to be in cooler, deeper waters,” said Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor.

Aug 17, 2023
On the Water: North Fork Easy Rider

I had done some fishing a few days earlier at Jessup’s Neck, and the bluefish were hungry, taking full advantage of my four-ounce diamond jig. I had my fill of fish, so I got on my motorcycle.

Aug 10, 2023
Master Carver Coaxes Feathers From Wood

With a careful, calculated touch, Robert Greene, a renowned decoy carver who lives in Springs, creates pieces so realistic they could easily be mistaken for taxidermy. “You gotta know the wood, you gotta be a halfway decent carver, you gotta be a decent painter. . . and you gotta be an artist,” he said.

Aug 3, 2023
On the Water: No Need to Be Crabby

“It’s been a great season thus far,” Harvey Bennett, former owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, said of blue-claw crabs. “They are large and plentiful. More people need to take advantage of it. Blue-claws are the best to eat.” 

Aug 3, 2023
On the Water: Fluke Mojo Regained

If I truly wanted to catch a fluke, for all practical purposes I would need to hop aboard one of the several fine party boats that set sail from Montauk, which are significantly closer to the more productive fishing grounds.

Jul 27, 2023
On the Water: Fluke Prove Evasive

The fishing for fluke has continued to deteriorate in Block Island Sound where dozens of boats used to drift their baited hooks on a daily basis in summer. Looking at my log book on the ride out, I noted that I had made two trips last summer and we failed to land a keeper. Not good.

Jul 20, 2023
A Vulnerable Bird Endures in a Springs Marsh

East Hampton is downright lucky to have a population of saltmarsh sparrows, birds that are vulnerable because of their dependence on a habitat that shrinks with every centimeter in sea level rise: the salt marsh. The sparrows themselves are not so lucky: they've lost 75 percent of their population since 1990. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is assessing whether the bird should be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Jul 20, 2023