Contribution to Book
Pioneering Lobster Aquaculture in Rhode Island
Aquaculture in Rhode Island: 2007 Yearly Status Report.
(2007)
Abstract
The 1898 establishment and operation of a lobster hatchery in Wickford Harbor under the auspices of the Rhode Island Commission on Inland Fisheries is reviewed. Dr. Herman Carey Bumpus a professor at Brown University and director of the United States Fisheries Commission undertook this effort to culture lobsters as a result of a decline in lobster landings, and concern for the stocks. Work at the hatchery led do considerable information about lobster reproductive and larval biology, and pioneering aquaculture methods for the species. By the mid-1920s, the hatchery was producing upwards of a million larvae per year and releasing them into Narragansett Bay. The hatchery ceased operations in 1949 when the Rhode Island fishery management agency underwent a reorganization. The hatchery and lessons learned were influential in the design and operation of a subsequent lobster hatcheries in Massachusetts and elsewhere.
Keywords
- Homarus americanus,
- Rhode Island,
- Lobster aquaculture
Disciplines
Publication Date
December 31, 2007
Editor
David A. Alves
Publisher
Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council
Citation Information
Michael A Rice. "Pioneering Lobster Aquaculture in Rhode Island" Wakefield, Rhode IslandAquaculture in Rhode Island: 2007 Yearly Status Report. (2007) p. 35 - 42 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/michael_rice/65/