Answer: Yes. The populations of finfish, like game fish and forage fish, show that the Sound is a rich feeding ground for fish. However, stressors on the Sound like changing water temperatures have an effect on which species can thrive in the Sound.
Amount of finfish as a geometric mean of weight (‘biomass’) or count per tow from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Long Island Sound Trawl Survey. See the data notes at the bottom of the page to learn more about the geometric mean.
Finfish populations are affected by many factors. Some of these factors are environmental stressors like warming waters, regulations like policies that prevent overfishing, as well as habitat restoration efforts.
Tracking population stability of these fish can be an indicator of the Partnership’s efforts to protect and enhance the health of offshore habitats and their associated species for the Offshore Habitat objective. The Partnership tracks population stability with two measures: Finfish Species Richness and the Finfish Biomass Index.
Finfish Species Richness measures the diversity of fish species supported within the Sound’s various habitats. The stable number of counts per tow indicate that the Sound is healthy and that a strong balance of species is able to exploit the full mix of resources available throughout this ecosystem.
The Finfish Biomass Index is an indicator of fisheries productivity in Long Island Sound. Although the Finfish Biomass Index has fluctuated over the past 30 years, there is a slight increasing trend in biomass through the time series. This stability indicates that while the abundance of individual species may have increased or decreased, the estuary has maintained its overall rate of finfish production.
Forage fish and game fish are types of finfish that tell the Partnership more specific information about the health of the Sound’s fish populations. Read more about the changes happening to the forage fish and game fish populations below.
Subscribe to receive our e-newsletter, Sound Matters by providing your email address. Interested in a free copy of our print newsletter, Sound Update? Then also provide your home/company/school address.
"*" indicates required fields
A common term to clarify fish as separate from other aquatic life who have ‘fish’ in their names, like shellfish or jellyfish.