Great South Bay is a bay situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is approximately 45 miles (72 km) long. It's protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Island, a barrier island, as well as the eastern end of Jones Beach Island and Captree Island.
Robert Moses Causeway adjoins the Great South Bay Bridge, which leads to Robert Moses State Park.
The bay is accessible from the ocean through Fire Island Inlet, which lies between the western tip of Fire Island and the eastern tip of Jones Beach Island.
The bay adjoins South Oyster Bay on its western end and Patchogue and Moriches Bays at the east end.
In the early 17th century, European settlers first encountered the native Meroke tribes. Among the earliest British families were the Smith, Carman and Hewlett families[1]
Rapid population growth on the northern shore of the bay has made it a popular destination for yachts and other pleasure craft. During spring and summer, Great South Bay is a popular area for boating and fishing.
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The rapid population growth around the shores of Great South Bay has led to numerous environmental problems. Eel grass beds, an important habitat for many fish species, have been lost from the western reaches of Great South Bay, in particular where the waste water treatment plants of the western communities pollute the bay. In the mid-bay and eastern part of the bay, storm water runoff, which contains pollutants and excess nitrogen from fertilized lawns and inefficient septic systems, has led to increases in algae and other pollution-related issues.
In the late nineteenth century Great South Bay provided many of the clams consumed throughout the region and even the country. The first oysters to be exported from the US to Europe came from Great South Bay. By the latter 20th century, a significant percentage of the habitat was lost and the clam population was dramatically reduced, devastating the neighboring communities that depended on it. In the 19th century thousands of baymen worked the waters of Great South Bay. Now, only a scant few can be seen.