A 48-year-old man clamming near the shore of Great South Bay off Tanner Park in Copiague lost consciousness and was found floating in the water around 5 p.m. on Thursday, according to Suffolk County Police. Lisandro Figueroa had been out clamming with his brother and two friends when a bystander spotted him in the water, pulled him to shore, called 911, and began CPR.
Suffolk County Police reported that Figueroa was later found in serious condition, according to Patch, which detailed the precise timing of the rescue at approximately 5:09 p.m. on September 10. Copiague rescue paramedics arrived on scene and took over administering medical treatment before transporting Figueroa to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, as reported by News 12 Long Island. Suffolk County Police First Squad detectives are continuing to investigate the cause of his loss of consciousness and have asked anyone with information to call the squad at 631-854-8152.
Why Tanner Park Draws Clammers and Anglers Alike
Tanner Park, at 1 Tanner Park in Copiague within the Town of Babylon, is a major public access point along Great South Bay, featuring a fishing pier, a public boat launch basin, food services, and restrooms, according to The Fisherman. The park's shallow shoreline has long made it a popular spot for local recreational fishing and clamming, drawing residents like Figueroa's group out into the bay's shallows on any given afternoon.
Anyone clamming in these waters is subject to applicable regulations. Town bay constables patrol the waters to enforce compliance. State rules add another layer: the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation mandates that hard clams be harvested only from certified unpolluted waters during daylight hours, with water quality testing determining temporary and seasonal bed closures.
A Trauma Center Built for Emergencies Like This
Good Samaritan University Hospital, where paramedics delivered Figueroa, is a 537-bed teaching hospital and the only verified Level I Adult Trauma Center on the South Shore of Long Island, according to Catholic Health. The hospital recently constructed a major new emergency care pavilion, underscoring the level of critical care available to patients pulled from the bay in serious condition.
This is not the first time Great South Bay waters near Tanner Park have turned deadly during a clamming outing. In July 2017, a 57-year-old Amityville man and retired police officer was found dead floating in the bay roughly one mile south of Tanner Park, near an empty 17-foot clamming boat, according to the Amityville Record. That case was investigated by Suffolk County Police homicide detectives.
A Bay With a Storied — and Fragile — Clamming History
Great South Bay was once the primary hard clam provider in the United States, reaching a record peak harvest of roughly 700,000 bushels in 1976 before overharvesting and environmental factors caused wild populations to plummet more than 80 percent by the late 1980s, according to The Nature Conservancy. In August, environmental groups and local officials transplanted 25,000 adult hard clams into spawner sanctuaries across the bay as part of ongoing restoration efforts, noting that a single adult clam filters up to 50 gallons of water per day, per News 12 Long Island's reporting on the sanctuaries.
The bay has also drawn heightened maritime safety attention in recent months. Under New York's Brianna's Law, effective January 1, 2025, all operators of motorized watercraft on state waters must complete a state-approved boating safety course regardless of age or experience — legislation named after an 11-year-old killed in a 2005 Great South Bay boating collision. Environmental nonprofit Operation SPLASH also keeps a modified clamming boat stationed at Tanner Park, with its crew patrolling weekly during boating season as part of its broader fleet of eight marine cleanup vessels across Long Island.
The exact cause of Figueroa's loss of consciousness remains under investigation by Suffolk County Police First Squad detectives, who have not indicated whether a medical event, physical exhaustion, or environmental factors played a role. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at the number listed above.
