Freddy, the 13.7 pound lobster that captured the hearts of two Cutchogue children who raised money to save his life, is free.
Today was the big day when Rachel Sterling Johnson, her husband Todd and their children, Wyatt, 10, and Hannah, 8, sprung the 75-year-old crustacean and brought him in a large cooler to his new home at the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center in Riverhead.
Her son Wyatt, when he saw Freddy, said, “He deserves better than butter and bibs,” his mother said.
First, the kids and their parents headed to Braun Seafood in Cutchogue, where the children proudly handed over the $110 they’d raised with a Go Fund Me account after first seeing Freddy earlier this week when their mom went to the shop to purchase food.
Next, Freddy was wrapped carefully by staff at Braun and packed into the ice-filled cooler, which was carried carefully up to the Aquarium’s main entrance when it opened at 10 a.m.
The family was met by Long Island Aquarium Marketing Director Darlene Puntillo and aquarist Julian Ansell, who whisked Freddy inside as quickly as possible to get him back into water.
For the time being, Freddy will be kept in a Japanese spider crab tank, at water temperatures of 47 degrees. He’ll ultimately end up in a large kelp tank, for all to see; currently, the tank houses fish and sea stars native to Long Island’s rocky shores, where he’ll be fed shrimp and other natural foods.
“He’ll be living large,” Johnson said.
The tank was meant for a lobster and already has a cave — lobster like to hide in closed spaces, Ansell said — but there has not been a lobster inside for a long time.
His arrival, Johnson said, feels like “destiny.”
And he’s sure to be a crowd pleaser, Ansell said. “People love to see big lobsters. He’s a big fella.”
As the children watched Freddy being released into his new home, Puntillo congratulated them for their kindness. “You saved an 0ld man lobster.”
Johnson said she was proud of her kids. “My little naturalists,” she said. Both her children, growing up on the North Fork, have garnered an appreciation for their natural environment and marine life on trips to the Sound, the ocean and Pugliese Pond.
The fundraising experience has taught her children that even though they are young, they can make a difference. “They do have a voice, and sometimes adults forget that,” she said.
Todd Johnson said he, too, was heartened by his kids’ mission to save Freddy. “It’s great they have such appreciation and compassion for the natural resources we have here,” he said.
Their eyes shining, Wyatt and Hannah were thrilled to bring Freddy to his new home.
“I’m happy,” Wyatt said.
“It’s good,” Hannah agreed.
Originally, according to Johnson, Freddy was slated to be released yesterday into the Long Island Sound.
But after learning more about the 75-year-old crustacean’s lineage, he’ll now be spending the rest of his days at the Aquarium, where he’ll be kept in ideal conditions, safe, and sure not to end up with the same fate on someone’s plate.
Johnson said she spoke with representatives of Braun Seafood and the Aquarium and learned that, since Freddy is from Canada and needs very cold water to live, he’d be better suited to live his life at the Aquarium.
The children captured the hearts of the community when they started a Go Fund Me campaign to save Freddy.
“My children, Wyatt and Hannah, are trying to save a lobster we saw at a local fish market today,” Rachel Sterling Johnson wrote on Go Fund Me page, “Save Freddy, the 13.7 lb. Lobster,” on Tuesday.
“He was huge, 13.7 lbs., which means he is around 75 or so years old. We got home and they were heartbroken to think that he would be eaten. That’s when they said, ‘Can we rescue him and release him?’ I thought this was a great idea and a great way to teach them about crowdfunding and doing a good deed.”
Wyatt said he felt sad seeing him in the tank. “I saw how big he was and thought maybe we could save him. I am happy that no one will be able to eat him and that he will go back to his home in the sea.”
And so the Go Fund Me page was born, reaching $110 of its $110 goal, donated by seven people, in one day. Today, $200 of a $500 goal was reached, with additional funding to be split evenly between S.P.A.T, the Southold Project in Aquaculture Training, created to encourage community members to become stewards of their environment and to restore shellfish to the bay, as well as the North Fork Animal Welfare League, Johnson said.
Hannah, 8, added, “It broke my heart to see him in that little tank. He is so old and I thought that he deserves to live longer and not be eaten. It feels good to be able to help save him.”
The children were rewarded for their good deed: After releasing Freddy, the family enjoyed a complimentary day at the Aquarium today. Also, Sharon Sailor, owner of Front Street Station in Greenport, wants to give the kids gift cards to Toys R Us. Because her son launched the Paul Drum Nautical Education Program, Sailor said, “The water, its creatures and all that makes us what we are is very important to us and I think these kids should be rewarded for their compassion for Freddy, their ingenuity, and just for doing something productive and caring. We want to pay it forward.”
