Operation: Recover the American Lobster Population of the Long Island Sound
Monika Brzostowska, Anastasia Deda, Elissa Olivera, Jiemin Yang at Queens College
Figure 2.Tactics for Recovering Lobster Population
Mixing:
 Have meeting to obtain government funding
 Set up the first center with a large jet in New Rochelle and add ten
smaller jets that are attached to docks and on Sound floor in Hudson
Beach (New Rochelle) by the year 2022.
 Set up the second center with a large jet in Glen Cove and add ten
smaller jets in Prybil Beach (Glen Cove) by the year 2032.
 Set up the third and final center with a large jet in Wards Island and add
the final ten smaller jets in Hell Gate (Wards Island) by the year 2042.
 Install mesh protection around jets
Briefing
 American Lobster (Homarus americanus) population declined by 90% in
Western LIS and 60-80% in Central LIS in 1990s
 Due to 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degree F) increase in temperature between
1979-2002
 Since then LIS lobster population has not increased by more than 5%
Reducing Atmospheric CO2:
 Get rid of PlaNYC proposed by Mayor Bloomberg by 2013
 Issue rationing for how much carbon emissions each building can produce
by 2020
 Build devices that capture carbon dioxide produced 2020
 Increase the efficiency of how electricity is made by 2030
 Build a nuclear power plant to provide for 80% of NYC’s electricity by 2030
 We aim to recover LIS lobster population by 85% of current population by
2102
 Why Are Lobsters Needed:
 Food/Income Source
 Preserve Biodiversity in LIS
 Important for flow of energy
 Why Should You Care?
 2011: Cases of people dying after eating LIS lobsters
 70% of Western Long Island Sound lobsterman lost 100% of fishing
income
Increase
Greenhouse Gases
(CO2)
Increase
Temperatures
Shell Disease
2) Mixing:
 Mix dissolved oxygen into LIS
 Install jets underneath beach docks and on Sound floor to increase mixing
of water in benthic zone (where the lobsters are) by 2042
Decreased
Dissolved Oxygen
Increased Bacterial
Growth
3) Reduce Atmospheric CO2 In NYC:
 Sustain levels of atmospheric CO2 at 450ppm so there is only a 50%
chance that temperatures will rise more than 2°C by 2100
4) Public Awareness:
 Educate NYC’s public and young generation about the negative effects of
climate change on the Long Island Sound lobster population
 Increased knowledge about issue = More willing to donate = higher
chance strategies will succeed
Increased Hypoxia
(Suffocation)
Pros:
 Prevents further increase of
water temperature
 Not solely aimed at LIS
 Targets primary cause of issue
Cons:
 Very unlikely strategy will work
 NYC unlikely to sustain levels of
450 ppm in given time period
 CO2 has very long life span
 Nuclear power plant will cause
increase runoff into LIS
Education: Why We Chose it?
Without it we wouldn’t receive the necessary funding and the damage
would continue to get worse
Fig.3. This map shows the dissolved oxygen levels in the LIS. The lowest and most severe levels
are concentrated in the Western LIS and gradually become less severe as you move eastward.
This map shows the locations in which we will first start implementing our aeration/mixing
strategies. The red area on map is the area that will be used to measure the effectiveness of
waterfalls. It shows how severe the lack of oxygen is in the LIS.
Public Awareness:
 Via Website
 Create an “Operation: Save the Lobsters of the LIS” website
 Upload research about issue (every 6 months)
 Create Donation page
Pros:
Cons:
 Educating public decreases
 Public won’t care about issue
amount of damage done to
even after educated
environment
 Great chunk of donations come
 Very low cost
from public awareness
 Receive necessary funding from
donations
 Via Social Media
 Build a social media marketing team by 2014.
 Build a Facebook page where we update about lobster study in Long
Island Sound
 Use Social Media to promote website
 Use Twitter to expand our awareness-raising campaign
 Schedule and promote family and fundraising events regarding our cause
 Promote contests: donate $5 and might win free snorkling session in LIS
Lobster Death
Plan of Attack
Fig. 1. This figure shows the main factors that work to decrease the lobster population in the LIS.
It is organized in a cause and effect flow, designating which environmental conditions lead to
the death of lobsters. From this chart we focused on trying to assess increasing temperatures
and decreasing dissolved oxygen. Increasing temperature is the primary cause of the lobster
death. Although assessing nonpoint source pollution as opposed to decreased dissolved
oxygen seems the most logical, it is not the most practical as this type of pollution does not
have an identifiable origin making it very difficult to asses.
Cons:
 Localized effects: Damage area
and environment where it’s built
 Expensive: Estimated cost per
waterfall is $15 million (we are
building ten)
 Not proven that it will generate
enough oxygen to recover lobster
population by 85%
Capping CO2 in NYC: Why We Chose it?
In order to make sure other strategies will continue to be effective
1) Aeration:
 Add dissolved oxygen to LIS
 Construct 10 artificial waterfalls in the Western part of the LIS by 2032
similar in design to that underneath the Brooklyn Bridge (Figure 2.)
 Monitor waterfall efficiency for 5 years to determine whether beneficial to
install more
Eutrophication
Pros:
 Similar projects have already
been carried out in different
locations.
 Waterfall of similar design and
cost on the Brooklyn Bridge
funded as artistic structure
without government assistance.
 High chance that we will receive
funding based on a previous
example
Pros:
Cons:
 Effective, low cost waste
 Effects land directly around jet
treatment jet models to base our
sites
design Doesn’t take long to build  May create too much turbulence
for organisms
Tactics
Nonpoint Source
Pollution
Aeration: Why We chose it?
To add dissolved oxygen into LIS
Mixing: Why we chose it?
Most effective way distribute dissolved oxygen to benthic levels in LIS
Fig. 2. This figure shows three approaches we focused on when creating strategies
that most effectively assess our issue of recovering the lobster population. These
approaches pinpoint the two main components of the cause and effect flow chart
(Fig. 1) and incorporate the reality of solving this problem in the public world. All four
of our strategies were derived from these three approaches.
Figure1. Main Causes of Lobster Decline
Conclusions
Aeration:
 Estimate the cost of the waterfalls - 1 month
 Find sponsors, Create a website that has a donation section
 Find investors to invest in our cause, apply for grants – 5 years
 Get a permit from NY state government to build the bridge - 5 months
 Close off the area for construction and get base of waterfall in – 5 months
 Construct waterfall with 135 feet height and 90 feet width – 1 year
 Have the opening ceremony for the waterfall (get the public more aware
and involved during this ceremony) – 1 Day
 Run waterfalls from 7am-9pm each day
Figure 4. “Falling Oxygen”
Reference
Barringer , Felicity. "A Market in Emissions Is Set to Open in California." New
Implementation Timeline
York Times. 13 2012: n. page. Web.
City of New York, . "PlaNYC Report." nytelecom. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov 2012.
 Get rid of
PlaNYC
2013
201
2
 Rationing
of CO2
emissions
2020
202
2
 Build CO2  Install 2nd jet
 Decide whether to
center
Glen
capturing
 Build nuclear
construct more
Cove
2032
devices
power plant
waterfalls 2042
2025
2035
203
2
 Build social
 Increase
 Construct 10
media team
 Install jet center
efficiency
of
waterfalls in
2014
New
electricity
Western LIS 2032
Rochelle 2022
2030
2042
 Install 3rd jet
center Hell
Gate 2042
Friedman, Robert M., and Rosina Bierbam. 58-65. Web.
Public Art Fund, . "Olafur Eliasson:The New York City Waterfalls." Public Art
Fund , 2008. Web. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.
…..
Siemens Water Technologies Corp, . (2009): n. page. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.
2102
 Atmospheric
CO2 levels
sustained at
450 ppm 2100
Fig. 4. This image shows a previous model of our aeration strategy. The waterfall increases
dissolved oxygen in LIS through turbulence. Increasing oxygen means more oxygen will sink to
the benthic levels providing more oxygen to the bottom dwelling lobsters. This added oxygen will
be mixed by installed jets on the LIS floor.