Rhode Island Fisheries

Clambakes and lobster feasts are synonymous with summer in Rhode Island. Though down dramatically since the lobster die-off of 1999, the state's lobster catch nevertheless totaled more than 1,900 metric tons in 2005, bringing in $23 million to the state economy. Global warming is expected to take a serious toll on this already declining shellfish population: by mid-century lobster stocks in Long Island Sound and in the nearshore waters of Rhode Island and south of Cape Cod are expected to collapse entirely as the maximum heat-stress threshold for lobster is consistently exceeded under either emissions scenario.