Document Type
Poster
Date of Original Version
3-27-2026
Abstract
Warming waters and declining catch have significantly impacted Rhode Island’s commercial lobster industry. As ocean conditions shift, new species such as black sea bass are moving northward, increasing predation on juvenile lobsters and intensifying ecological competition. The warming water also increases the percentage of lobsters experiencing a fatal bacterial disease called Epizootic Shell Rot Disease. These environmental pressures, combined with trap reductions implemented in response to the Southern New England lobster stock collapse, have forced many lobstermen out of the industry. At this point, lobstermen need to decide how to adapt by strengthening their adaptive capacity strategies to stay in the industry. These strategies can primarily be categorized into 6 main domains, including assets, flexibility, organization, learning, socio-cognitive, and agency. While extensive research has been completed on this topic in the Gulf of Maine, there is little data available for the Rhode Island area. To better understand the perceptions of the lobstermen on these impacts on the industry, researchers conducted 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews with current and past Rhode Island commercial lobstermen. The interviews were based on the three main research questions pertaining to marine ecosystem composition changes, adaptive capacity strategies used by the lobstermen, and the future of the Rhode Island lobster industry. The results of a thematic analysis yielded environmental observations, regulatory impacts, adaptive strategies, and future industry outlooks. The most significant stressors to lobstermen were predation, regulatory effort reductions, and offshore wind development. In response, lobstermen reported strengthening their adaptive capacity by diversifying target species, shifting fishing locations, and increasing effort. Future research should build off this study to address ecosystem shifts throughout New England and the impact on lobster communities.
Recommended Citation
Miller, Jocelyn, "Adaptive Capacity of Rhode Island Commercial Lobstermen: An Analysis of Ecosystem Shift Impacts from Warming Waters" (2026). Poster Presentations. Paper 5.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gradcon2026-posters/5