Interactive Map of Bioextraction Projects

Locally-grown kelp (Saccharina *latissima*) was harvested on the East River off the campus of SUNY Maritime in the Bronx in spring 2021. It will be applied as fertilizer on a Long Island farm as part of a project to test the viability of harvesting kelp as a commercial product as well as to reduce nutrient pollution. Search “Nutrient Bioextraction Product Application” in the table to learn more. Credit: Kristin Kraseski

The map shows locations where the Long Island Sound Study has funded nutrient bioextraction projects. These efforts expand the understanding and potential of growing and harvesting seaweed and shellfish to remove nitrogen from impaired waters. Click on a seashell map icon or view the table for details about each project.

wdt_ID	Project Name	Last Updated	Project Lead	Project Objectives	Location	Municipality	Species	Project Progress	EPA Federal Funding	LISS Funding Source	Project Timeline	Waterbody Coordinates	Notes
3	SoundWaters Bioextraction Seaweed Farm (Completed 2020)	07/26/2022	SoundWaters	Install a seaweed farm to bioextract pollution from Greenwich Harbor, CT, and educate students, teachers, and the public about the benefits of bioextraction.	Greenwich Harbor and Stamford Harbor	Greenwich and Stamford, CT	Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)	Completed	38,307.00	Long Island Sound Futures Fund	December 1, 2018 - August 31, 2020	41.012211, -73.624680; and 41.022741, -73.539384
5	Oyster Planting to Improve Water Quality in Long Island Sound (NY)	01/13/2022	Town of Brookhaven	Plant 200,000 American oysters to assess their potential to remove nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon pollution from waters and repopulate a historic fishery.	Port Jefferson Harbor	Port Jefferson, NY	Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica)	Completed	92,473.56	Long Island Sound Futures Fund	November 1, 2019 - March 1, 2022	40.961917, -73.084572
6	Bioextraction of "Gold Coast" Kelp in the Oyster Bay Complex (NY)	07/19/2022	Adelphi University	Analyze growth of and potential for bioextraction of pollution by sugar kelp in Long Island's Gold Coast.	Oyster Bay Harbor	Oyster Bay, NY	Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)	Completed	103,917.63	Long Island Sound Futures Fund	November 1, 2019 - August 1, 2021	40.881410, -73.517168
7	Quantifying the Ability of Seaweed Aquaculture in Long Island Sound to Remove Nitrogen, Combat Ocean Acidification, Improve Water Quality and Benefit Bivalves	01/13/2022	Stony Brook University	Explore if two warm-water seaweed species could be used for bioextraction, ameliorating coastal ocean acidification, reducing incidence of HABs, and increasing bivalve performance.	Soundwide	Soundwide	Gracilaria, Ulva, Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica), and Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis)	Ongoing	238,933.00	LISS Research Grant Program	October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2023	41.073970, -72.946825
8	FY20: Using Seaweed Aquaculture to Improve Water Quality in the Long Island Sound (Completed 2022)	12/12/2023	NEIWPCC	Evaluate the efficiency of bioextraction with sugar kelp, and assess it's use as a fertilizer amendment	Milton Harbor, East River, and Northport Harbor	Rye, NY; Bronx, NY; and Northport, NY	Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)	Completed	133,602.00	LISS Enhancement	Completed 2022	40.944994, -73.698612; 40.799769, -73.854905; and 40.901183, -73.356577	Sugar Kelp Bioextraction Project (Pilot) Final Report: http://neiwpcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/N-S-2020-003.pdf
9	Ribbed Mussel Nutrient Bioextraction in the Bronx River Estuary, New York City (Completed 2017)	07/26/2022	NOAA Milford	Evaluate ribbed mussels for nutrient bioextraction and restore some of the ecosystem functions that were once provided by historic ribbed mussel populations.	Bronx River	Hunts Point, Bronx, NY	Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia demissa)	Completed		Not funded through EPA (NYS Office of the Attorney General and NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture	Completed 2017	40.814052, -73.871699
10	FY19: Economic Feasibility Market Study for Nutrient Bioextraction Activities in the Long Island Sound, Phase 1	12/12/2023	NEIWPCC	To conduct a third-part study high-level economic feasibility/market analysis to make recommendations for the bioextraction species and markets with the most potential in LIS.	Soundwide	Soundwide	Various	Ongoing	100,000.00	LISS Enhancement	October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022 (extended)	41.073970, -72.946825	Economic Feasibility Study
11	Economic Feasibility Market Study for Nutrient Bioextraction Activities in the Long Island Sound, Phase 2	01/13/2022	NEIWPCC	To conduct a third-party study that will build on the recommendations of a previously funded, high level economic feasibility/market analysis, and which may emphasize scalability	Soundwide	Soundwide	Various	Not Started	100,000.00	LISS Enhancement	October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022 (extended)	41.073970, -72.946825
12	FY20: Using Ribbed Mussel Aquaculture to Improve Water Quality in the Long Island Sound	01/13/2022	NEIWPCC	Evaluate the efficiency of bioextraction with ribbed mussels, and assess its use as an animal feed.	Huntington Harbor	Huntington, NY	Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia demissa)	Ongoing	232,737.00	LISS Enhancement	October 1, 2020 - September 30, 2022 (extended to Spring 2024)	40.895266, -73.422583	Ribbed Mussel Bioextraction Project (Pilot)
13	Use of Sugar Kelp Aquaculture in Long Island Sound and Bronx River Estuary for Nutrient Extraction (Completed 2013)	07/26/2022	Uconn	Investigate the effectiveness of the cold water kelp species, Saccharina latissima, for nutrient bioextraction through seaweed aquaculture.	Bronx River and Long Island Sound	Bronx, NY and Fairfield, CT	Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)	Completed	157,448.00	Long Island Sound Futures Fund	Completed 2013	40.814052, -73.871699; and 41.073970, -72.946825
14	Field Scale Evaluation of Seaweed Aquaculture as a Nutrient Bioextraction Strategy in Long Island Sound and the Bronx River Estuary (Completed 2012)	07/26/2022	Uconn	Investigate Gracilaria as a candidate species for nutrient bioextraction.	Bronx River and Long Island Sound	Bronx, NY and Fairfield, CT	Gracilaria	Completed	123,999.00	Long Island Sound Futures Fund	Completed 2012	40.814052, -73.871699; and 41.073970, -72.946825
15	FY21: Nutrient Bioextraction Product Application: Field Testing of Locally-Sourced Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima) Fertilizer Amendments in Long Island, NY	11/20/2023	NEIWPCC	To continue to evaluate the efficacy of locally-sourced kelp meal extract as a fertilizer amendment on vegetables and/or ornamentals.	East River	Bronx, NY (Throggs Neck) and Riverhead, NY	Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)	Ongoing	100,000.00	LISS Enhancement	October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022 (extended)	40.799769, -73.854905	Fertilizer Amendment Project
16	FY21: Nutrient Bioextraction: Refinement of Atlantic Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa) Aquaculture Methods	12/12/2023	NEIWPCC	To continue to investigate culturing methods to address bottlenecks and refine the process to allow for future development of large scale Ribbed Mussel bioextraction projects.	Huntington Harbor	Huntington, NY	Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa)	Ongoing	100,000.00	LISS Enhancement	October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022 (extended)	40.895266, -73.422583	Aquaculture Refinement/Hatchery Culturing Project
17	FY22: Investigating the long-term storage of viable kelp gametophytes and use of sugar kelp for seaweed turfgrass fertilizer amendment study	12/12/2023	NEIWPCC	The purpose of this pilot project is to conduct a nursery trial to determine whether Saccharina latissima gametophytes can be stored in a nursery setting for a number of months and remain viable for use as a source of seed for an in-water cultivation project.	SUNY Maritime College	Throggs Neck, NY	Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)	Not Started	229,528.00		December 2022- August 31, 2024	40.806271, -73.797098	Gametophyte Storage Project
18	FY22: Long-term Quantification of nitrogen bioextraction and carbon capture by seaweed and bivalve aquaculture in Long Island Sound	12/12/2023	Stony Brook University	Quantify the removal of nitrogen and carbon by seaweeds and bivalves across nearshore and open water regions of Long Island Sound over a five-year period (current request is funding for the first two years of the project); this action will assess the actual and modeled cumulative impact of sustained aquaculture on the nutrient (nitrogen) that when removed provides ecosystem resilience. It also addresses the central climate target, carbon.	Bronx River Estuary, Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor, Northport Harbor, Mount Sinai Harbor		Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima), Gracilaria tikvahiae; and/or Ulva spp.	Not Started	350,000.00		November 1, 2023-November 31, 2025	40.806352, -73.797822; 40.874375, -73.482346; 40.892042, -73.357350; and 40.963303, -73.031812	Long-term Monitoring Project
19	FY22: Assessment of wild harvest of seaweeds as a tool to bioextract nutrients from coastal waters: Phase 1	12/12/2023	NEIWPCC	The purpose of this project is to set the stage for a nutrient bioextraction pilot study in the Long Island Sound, to evaluate the efficiency of harvesting wild nuisance macroalgae species as a nutrient resource management strategy.	TBD		TBD (local nuisance species)	Not Started			TBD	TBD	Wild Harvest Project
	Project Name	Last Updated	Project Lead	Project Objectives	Location	Municipality	Species	Project Progress	EPA Federal Funding	LISS Funding Source	Project Timeline	Waterbody Coordinates	Notes

Interactive Map of Bioextraction Projects

Demonstration Project: Harvesting Kelp in Oyster Bay to Remove Nutrient Pollution

Demonstration Project: Harvesting Kelp for Fertilizer Use

Interactive Map of Bioextraction Projects

Demonstration Project: Harvesting Kelp in Oyster Bay to Remove Nutrient Pollution

Demonstration Project: Harvesting Kelp for Fertilizer Use

Please complete your newsletter signup.