Tropical Fish in Long Island Sound

[link to www.nhregister.com]


STRANGE CATCH: Never-before-seen fish causes a buzz in L.I. Sound


Published: Sunday, August 22, 2010


BRANFORD — Netting off in the shallows of Hotchkiss Grove, Tony Pulcinella and his grandkids don’t think twice about catching snapper, silver-side minnows, blue crabs and sea robins.

But this weekend, Pulcinella found something in his net that he had never encountered in his 68 years in Long Island Sound: What appeared to be three small angelfish that typically swim near warm water reefs in the Caribbean, Gulf Coast and Mid-Atlantic.

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“In my 68 years on the water, I’ve never seen this fish,” said Pulcinella.

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“You don’t find them in Long Island Sound very often,” he said, “although surface temperatures were warm this year so one might expect to find tropical fish...”

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Indeed, as water temperatures rise in Long Island Sound, certain species of fish typically found in more temperate waters of the Mid-Atlantic are being found off of Connecticut and Long Island, he said.

“We do attribute that to warmer temperatures in the Sound and we expect to continue to see that,” said state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Dwayne Gardner. “It’s not a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just indicative of the warmer temperatures.”

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The fish sparked a lot of conversation and weekend mystery among the residents of this shoreline enclave and the intrigue was only heightened by news that a warm-water manatee was spotted near a Clinton marina Friday.