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OTF Restores More than One Million Lobsters
After Oil Spill
The North Cape Lobster Restoration program was implemented
following an oil spill in 1996 in Rhode Island that killed an
estimated nine million lobsters, along with several thousand
birds, and millions of clams, fish and other marine
invertebrates. The responsible party, along with state and
federal
governments, reached a settlement which requires the restoration
of 1.24 million female lobsters killed by the oil spill.
OTF has been conducting the restoration efforts for the past
five years and data indicates that the program could be a rare
success story in fisheries restoration. Local lobstermen are
playing an important role, along with observers who accompany
the lobstermen out to sea. The observers check to see if
lobsters pulled up in the traps meet the criteria for the
restocking program.
If a lobster is female, has a hard, clean
shell, and is of legal size, a "v-notch" is made in her right
middle flipper, which marks her as a
participant in the restoration program, and makes her illegal to
keep if she is again caught in a trap. The participating
lobstermen receive compensation for each qualifying lobster that
is notched and returned to the sea.
In the summer of 2006, the goal of restoring 1.24 million
lobsters will be reached. In each of the last four years (2002
through 2005) participants have observed approximately 50% of
the females with V-notches that are also carrying eggs. Without
the V-notching program, these eggs would not have otherwise been
in the water contributing to rebuilding the lobster stock. The
program could serve as a model for other states wishing to
engage in fisheries restoration.
[Excerpt from
OTF's Spring 2006 Newsletter] |
