Seatuck Secures $2 Million for Fish Passage Projects

State grants will fund a fishway at Patchogue Lake and culvert replacements at Mattituck Inlet on Long Island.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Aquariums

Isometric editorial illustration of a stepped concrete fishway in a marsh channel beside large box culverts under an embankment, in muted oxblood, teal, and mustard. — Seatuck Environmental Association received nearly $2 million in New York state grants to build a fishway at Patchogue Lake and replace culverts at Mattituck Inlet. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Seatuck Environmental Association received nearly $2 million in New York state grants for two fish passage projects on Long Island. The awards come through the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Water Quality Improvement Project grant program.

Why it matters

The existing dam and undersized culverts cut migratory fish off from spawning, feeding and nursery habitat. Restoring passage and tidal flow aims to reconnect those habitats for fish and surrounding wetlands.

The state grant package is nearly $2 million combined across the Patchogue and Mattituck projects, according to the funding announcement. Separate amounts for each site and construction start dates have not yet been disclosed.

The players

Seatuck Environmental Association

A Long Island-based nonprofit focused on watershed protection and habitat restoration across the region's coastal waters.

Suffolk County Department of Public Works

The county agency that oversees public infrastructure, including the roads and drainage systems involved in the Mattituck culvert work.

Southold Town

The local government of the North Fork town that is partnering on the Mattituck Inlet culvert replacement.

The details

Seatuck plans to install a pool-and-weir fishway to bypass the barriers on the Patchogue River, opening access to Patchogue and Canaan lakes. At Mattituck Inlet, the group will replace two undersized culverts with larger concrete box culverts, working with Southold Town and the Suffolk County Department of Public Works.

November 5, 2026: Seatuck announced the grant awards.
Both projects will be implemented over multiple years, with start dates to be announced once plans are finalized.

Roadmap

Funding through New York's Water Quality Improvement Project grant program directs state dollars toward restoring fish passage on Long Island. The projects extend that program's water quality work into barriers that block migratory fish from spawning habitat.

Residents near Patchogue Lake and Mattituck Inlet may see construction activity once projects begin, though no start dates have been set. Restored fish passage could improve local fishing and aquatic habitat over time.

The takeaway

Removing barriers like dams and undersized culverts can reconnect fish to the habitats they need to spawn and feed. Watching for announced start dates will show when these New York restoration projects begin.