Understand how fishing pressure affects lobster populations
Practice sustainable fishing using V-notching and size limits
Make economic decisions about markets and supply chains
Observe how climate change shifts species ranges over time
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Captain’s Briefing
Montauk Harbor — Eastern Tip of Long Island, New York
Your Mission
Welcome aboard, Captain. You’ve inherited a small lobster boat docked at Montauk Harbor. Over the next four fishing trips, your job is to make a living catching American lobster (Homarus americanus) — without destroying the very fishery you depend on.
Lobstermen here have faced hard times. The Long Island Sound lobster die-off of 1999 wiped out most of the local fleet, and warming waters continue to push lobsters north toward Maine. Your choices this week will decide whether you build a sustainable career or watch your fishery collapse.
The Four Fishing Zones
Block Island Sound
Deep, cold, lobster-rich. Far from harbor — high fuel cost. Best stock.
Gardiner’s Bay
Close, sheltered, cheap fuel. Smaller stock. Warming the fastest — climate change hits here first.
Nearshore Atlantic
Medium distance, medium stock. Bluefin tuna hotspot 🐟 — mackerel/tuna bait attracts them.
🌊 Hudson Canyon (OFFSHORE)
100 miles southeast. Massive lobster & tuna stocks — but $750 fuel and risk of storms, breakdowns, and gear loss. The big leagues.
The Rules of the Sea
Multiple Drops Per Trip
On each trip you can drop traps up to 4 times in your chosen zone. Each drop = 5 traps. After each haul, choose: drop more here, or head back to harbor. Each successive drop catches less — you’re depleting the spot in real time.
Choose Your Bait Wisely
Salted Herring ($20) is reliable. Fresh Mackerel ($45) gets +30% catch rate. Skipjack Tuna Heads ($75) gets +50%. Both mackerel and tuna heads attract striped bass and bluefin tuna.
Sort Your Catch
You can Keep, Release, or V-notch (berried only) each lobster. Berried hens (carrying eggs) MUST be released or V-notched. Sublegal lobsters CAN be kept — but at risk.
The Gray Market & the DEC
Sublegal lobsters can be sold — unless the NY DEC inspects you at the dock. Inspection chance scales with how many you keep. If caught: fine + confiscation.
V-Notching Pays Off
V-notching a berried female protects her permanently and boosts the population’s recovery between trips. A small loss today, a big gain tomorrow.
Bycatch is Bonus Cash
Black sea bass, scup, fluke, and (with mackerel/tuna bait) striped bass come up in your traps. BLUEFIN TUNA ($200) hit at 55% in Nearshore Atlantic. Even rarer: a GIANT BLUEFIN ($1,000) at 10% in Nearshore!
Boat Upgrades
At any dock visit, invest in 12 upgrades: bigger hold, GPS, sonar, hotspot finder, reinforced traps, co-op, hatchery, insulated tank, bait discount, diesel engine, trap tags, deckhand — and the Master-only Tuna Green Stick.
Climate Pressure
Each trip, the water gets a little warmer. Gardiner’s Bay populations decline first — the same pattern that crashed the LI Sound fishery in 1999.
Bankruptcy = Game Over
If your bank drops below $0, the bank repossesses your boat. You start over from Trip 1.
Your Goal
Earn money. Keep the lobster population alive. Balance economic survival with conservation. After four trips, your performance will be graded on profit AND sustainability.