A Stony Brook professor has made protecting Long Island's waters his top priority.

Dr. Christopher Gobler, a professor of marine science at Stony Brook University, designed the Long Island Water Quality Index to measure the health of the waters around Long Island.

"We've got about 30 sites, and we are looking at six different parameters and comparing how water quality on Long Island measures up to state and federal standards," Gobler told News 12. "The Water Quality Index is based on fecal coliform bacteria, chlorophyll, harmful algae, brown tide, dissolved oxygen and water clarity."

In order to get the statistics, graduate students from Stony Brook University go to each site and log data each week. Collected samples are then measured at the school.

So far, the program has displayed just how fragile Long Island's marine environment is. The project has been noticed by the public, as well as government officials.