58 



mound). However, the western Long Island Sound region supports an extremely active 

 American lobster fishery, with thousands of traps, or "pots", deployed and recovered on a 

 daily basis. Given the size, angular shape, and gray color of the sediment clasts, the 

 deposit detected in one replicate photograph collected at STA 8 is probably attributable to 

 the recent (one to two weeks) deployment or recovery of lobster fishing gear within the 

 confines of the reference area. As lobster traps are dragged along the bottom, silt and clay 

 collect in the wire mesh and will evenmally be dislodged, falling to the seafloor as clumps 

 of sediment. 



The gray clasts of recently deposited sediment appear to be supporting an early 

 Stage I population with small mbes and areas of oxidized sediment visible over their 

 surfaces (Figure 3-25 A). In addition, Stage III foraging activity has begun to incorporate 

 this new material into the surficial sediment layers as errant polychaete worms exploit the 

 organic content of the sediment clasts. It is expected that continued colonization and 

 bioturbation activity by the benthic infaunal community will render this new deposit 

 indistinguishable from the surface sediments of reference area SOUTH in short order. 



The scrutiny given to this one replicate photograph collected at reference area 

 SOUTH has resulted in the discovery of another issue. Reference areas are generally 

 sampled at randomly selected stations within a 300 m radius of a central reference point 

 (SOUTH: 40°58.688' N, 73°29.201' W; Figure 4-5). Station locations are determined by 

 assigning a range and bearing from the central reference point, then calculating a 

 geographic location (latitude and longimde) in NAD 27. Although part of the reference 

 area random sampling scheme, STA 8 actually lies within the southern FEIS boundary of 

 WLIS (Figure 2-1). STA 8, located at 40°58.839' N, 73°29.162' W, lies approximately 

 285 m north-northeast (11° azimuth) of the central reference point for SOUTH, but falls 

 approximately 72 m inside the southern FEIS boundary for WLIS (Figure 2-1). 



Reference area selection criteria in July 1992 required finding a suitable area with a 

 comparable water depth to WLIS, located outside active or discontinued disposal sites, and 

 in relatively close proximity to the previously utilized 2000S reference area (EUer and 

 Williams 1996). The geographic locations of the several proposed WLIS reference areas 

 were selected from a NOAA nautical chart (No. 12363) and compared to the boundaries of 

 the disposal site. 



The results of the July 1992 field investigations determined the proposed SOUTH 

 reference area to be a suitable replacement for 2000S, free of dredged material deposition 

 and other indications of anthropogenic activity. The new reference point was located 

 392 m south of the disposal site with a water depth of approximately 23 m (75 ft) at 

 MLLW. However, in July 1992 WLIS was erroneously reported as the 3.42 km^ (1 nmi^) 

 area by the DAMOS Program, not taking into account the description of the disposal site 



Monitoring Cruise at the Western Long Island Sound Disposal Site, July 1996 



