High school marine science students had the opportunity to investigate marine life in the Shinnecock Bay during a recent field trip.

The students in Richard Iannelli’s class spent a day trawling for fish on a SUNY Southampton college vessel captained by Brian Gagliardi. The high schoolers hauled in 50-foot-long nets and were quickly amazed by their catch. Among the fish they caught and analyzed were banded killifish, porgy, black fish, northern lined seahorses and various crabs. They also hauled in tropical butterfly fish and four different species of grouper.

In addition to learning about the types of marine life that live in local waters, the students, with the assistance of Christopher Paparo, director of the SUNY Southampton Marine Science Center, took samplings of the bay for dissolved oxygen and turbidity at various depths.

After docking, students took samples of fish species by the south end of the Ponquogue Bridge using a 50-foot seine net.

 “This trip was abundant and meaningful for all of our students,” said Mr. Iannelli.