A Fishery Success Story!

In a severe winter storm in 1996, the oil barge North Cape ran aground on Moonstone Beach in Rhode Island, spilling about 800,000 gallons of home heating oil into Block Island Sound and onto the shore. Among the impacts to marine organisms and birds, it is estimated that 9 million American lobsters (Homarus americanus) were killed in the spill. The responsible party, along with state and federal governmental agencies, reached a settlement which required the restoration of lobsters and other wildlife killed by the oil spill.

From 2001-2006, the Ocean Technology Foundation conducted this first-of-its-kind lobster restoration effort, which involved protecting through a v-notching program (see below) 1.248 million adult female lobsters over a four to five year period. An estimated 23 billion eggs from these females will yield nine million lobsters, replacing those that perished in the spill. Lobster number 1,248,000 was notched on June 23, 2006.

Local Lobstermen Are the Keys to Success

Local lobstermen played an important role in the restoration program. Observers in the program accompanied lobstermen out to sea, where they checked to see if lobsters pulled up in the traps met the criteria for the restocking program. If a lobster was female, had a hard, clean shell, and was of legal size, a "v-notch" was made in her right middle flipper of the tail, which marked her as a participant in the restoration program, and made her illegal to keep if she was again caught in a trap while the notch is still evident. The lobstermen received payment for each lobster that was notched and returned to the sea (using the "Chad" that was punched from the tail as an invoice).


Sustainability

On a daily basis OTF, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management scientists reviewed data gathered by OTF Observers on board lobster boats and would then adapt the program activities to ensure economic and environmental sustainability. For example, a restocking area was closed to notching when consistent catch rates yielded 3 previously notched lobsters for every one legal, harvestable lobster.
 

Conclusions

• Controlled experiments with several hundred v-notched female lobsters conclusively showed no negative impact from v-notching to lobster health and overall well-being.
   
• Fishery statistics indicated that over 50% of annual lobster egg production in 2005 was from protected v-notched lobsters. (see graph below)
   
• Lobstermen in 2005 and 2006 claim their traps are catching relatively large numbers of sub-legal lobsters which are believed to be the direct result of the v-notching restoration program. These sub-legal lobsters will be harvestable during later fishing seasons, demonstrating that the economic and environmental benefits continue long after completion of the lobster restoration program.
   
• The lobster restoration program demonstrates that principles of ecological and economic sustainability can be successfully integrated into fishery restoration management. These principles could be applied to a variety of fisheries and/or environmental restoration projects.

Spring 2006 Article from OTF Newsletter

 Lobster Resources and Activities for Educators

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