Sheepshead’s Sheepshead (by the Sea Shore)
Brooklyn Based has a great article today titled, “The Naming of Sheepshead Bay“. It explains the story of the sheepshead fish, the awesomely evil-looking toothed piscis, and its history within our murky waters. John Waldman, a professor of biology at Queens College, and author of Heartbeats in the Muck, which traces the history of the New York Harbor, explains why it may have left some time in the late 1800s. But for those like me that love that ugly bastard of a fish, there may be cause to rejoice. He says that conditions for their return are forming:
From time to time, a stray sheepshead makes its way to Brooklyn and rumors fly that the species has made a comeback. Waldman doubts a comeback is imminent, but does think Sheepshead Bay could become attractive to the species in the future.
“For one thing, we are seeing oysters in a lot of places that they weren’t found in the mid century,” he said. “And the waters are warming a bit because of climate change, so we might become more inhabitable.”
