This document summarizes the history of shellfish aquaculture in Rhode Island from the 17th century to present day. It discusses how the shellfish industry developed over time, reaching its peak in the early 1900s with over 21,000 acres of oyster farms before declining in the mid-1900s due to increased sewage and lack of environmental protections. It also outlines how decades of investment in clean water infrastructure and regulations have supported the renewal of shellfish aquaculture in Rhode Island with over 50 farms and 172 acres leased currently.

1. The Economic & Environmental History of
Shellfish Aquaculture in Rhode Island and its
Lessons for the Future
Michael A. Rice, Professor
Dept. of Fisheries, Animal & Veterinary Sciences
University of Rhode Island

2. Summary
• Milestones in the development
of RI’s shellfish industry
• Shellfish in the 19th Century
diet
• Sewage & development of the
NSSP
• Oysters and the RI economy,
then & now
• Environmental impact of
shellfish; estimates &
comparisons, then & now
• Implications of decades
investments in clean water &
renewed interest in shellfish
farming

3. Growth of Shellfisheries in Rhode Island
• Shellfisheries documented
1643 by Roger Williams
• 1734 statute on using oysters
in lime kilns
• 1766 statute restricting harvest
to tongs
• Oysters farmed in Rhode
Island since 1798
• Oysters considered important
food before refrigeration
• By 1910, there were 21,000
acres (8500 ha) of oyster farms
in Rhode Island

4. Comparison retail price per pound in USA
Item
Oyster meat
Fish*
Beef*
Chicken*
Eggs*
Year & Prices
2013inflation adj.
2013 actual
$2.83
$19.00
$7.09
10.00
$7.09
6.95
$8.50
2.25
$7.09
2.49
.
1909
$0.12
$0.30
$0.30
$0.36
$0.30
*Bone or shell-free price estimates
Sources: MacKenzie 1996; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; 2013 market surveys

5. Average RI & CT landing prices
of oysters per US standard bushel (~80lb)
Year
Prices
Actual US$
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
$1.22
0.63
1.09
0.65
0.74
1.12
1.08
2.41
9.57
14.00
26.26
59.60
92.00
115.00
.
Inflation adjusted to 2013 US$
$56.70
20.79
46.07
17.01
8.65
15.69
18.04
23.39
75.61
84.39
74.53
106.65
124.65
123.34
Sources: MacKenzie 1996; Greg Silkes, American Mussel (pers comm); U.S. Dept. of Labor Inflation Statistics.

6. Invention of the flush toilet greatly
increases sewage to Narragansett Bay
• 1901
“The Providence Sewage Treatment System is put
into operation. The chemical precipitation plant, the
third of its kind in the United States, is the largest of
its type ever built. The system consists of a pumping
station at Ernest Street to lift sewage to Field's Point
for treatment.”
• 1910
“Providence's sewage treatment plant
begins to run into problems due to inadequacies of
the chemical precipitation process and the
continuing growth of the City. Providence begins
barging and dumping large volumes of sludge into
Narragansett Bay, east of Prudence Island, about
14 miles south of Providence.”
Source: Providence Journal & Narragansett Bay Commission History

7. Consequences of the Sewer System 1900-1925
• Incidences of water-borne
diseases down 90% in the city
• But, millions of liters of wastewater
pour into Narragansett Bay
• Increase of bacterial diseases
(typhoid & cholera) associated with
eating shellfish
• Concerns by public health officials
about epidemics
• Media reports and several wealthy
individuals die from shellfish –
calls for action
• NSSP instituted in 1925

8. Price of a dozen half-shell oysters
Typical RI Restaurant Prices
Year
1885
1890
1910
1920
2013
actual inf. adj.
0.36 $14.88
0.12
4.02
0.15
3.54
0.25
2.92
19.95 19.95
Source: MacKenzie (1996).

9. RI Oyster Lease Fees Paid to State
160000
140000
Lease Fees ($)
120000
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
1860
1880
1900
Year
1920
1940
Oyster lease area facts
• Peak is 1912 at about
21,000 acres
• Peak lease fees inflation
adjusted to 2013 = $3.26
million
Source: RI Commissioners of Shellfisheries Reports

10. RI Oyster Production Statistics 1911
25000
Lease Area (acres)
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1860
1880
1900
Year
1920
1940

11. Current Status of Rhode Island Aquaculture
Year
Am. Oysters
Quahogs
Eu. Oysters
Value
Farms
Acres Leased
$86,668
5
8
1995
87,800
92,514
1996
126000
187629
2000
$92,120
6
9
1997
192225
160886
9125
$275,946
6
17
$296,980
10
26
1998
343700
165456
0
1999
352775
246642
15000
$214,836
14
28
2000
550582
87897
$314,977
12
30
2001
543978
122196
$299,998
18
51.5
2002
908000
138199
$478,160
18
53.75
2003
1,163,519
22477
$563,891
20
61
$572,994
22
70.3
2004
1,138,718
23048
2005
1,530,815
32,745
$744,319
24
85
2006
2,357,736
84,500
$1,348,525
28
99
2007
2,551,493
34,195
$1,587,857
30
123
2008
2,680,036
25,150
$1,692,195
30
123
2009
2,821,166
52,000
$1,785,135
33
134.5
$2,326,948
38
141
2010
3,852,414
76,900
2011
4,072,186
58,400
$2,459,761
43
160.25
2012
4,303,866
81,425
$2,822,734
50
172.55
Data Courtesy of David Alves & David Beutel, CRMC

12. What about Carrying Capacity?
25000
• landing
2012
397 mt
• area 20,846ac = 8,436ha 172.5ac = 69.8 ha
• production 6.8 mt/ha
5.6 mt/ha
20000
Lease Area (acres)
1911
57,825 mt
15000
10000
5000
0
1860
1880
1900
Year
1920
1940
Conclusions of Pietros & Rice (2003) mesocosm
study:
•1911 production levels can shift phytoplankton
species composition…but does not affect overall
biomass of phytoplankton
Conclusions of Byron (2011) modeling study:
• Ecological CC= 119,436 mt of cultured oysters in a
total area of 37,400 ha = 3.2 mt/ha
• Production CC =1,301,520 mt of cultured oysters in
a total area of 37,400 ha = 34.8 mt/ha

13. Decline of RI oyster farms 1912-1952
• Increase raw sewage inputs
1910s
• Deforestation & cumulative
effects of soil erosion
• Increased metal finishing
effluents starting 1870s to 1980s
• Gov. T.F. Green’s ‘bloodless
revolution’ of 1935 and sociopolitical change
• Hurricane of 1938
• Labor shortages during WWII
• 1952 – last farm, Warren
Oyster Company gave up leases
Herbert Marshall Howe
Farm In Bristol, ca1900
Hurricane damage, 1938

14. --- but, fixing the problems since
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1925 National Shellfish Sanitation
Program (NSSP)
1933 USDA Soil Conservation
Service (now NRCS)
1972 Clean Water Act & EPA
StB & other enviro-activism
RIDEM Water Resources & CRMC
NBC: CSO abatement & the RI Big
Dig
RIDEM F& W shellfish
management
1981 to 2003 overhaul of
aquaculture laws
& Many others serving as a major
investments in clean water
Photo by Gilbane Construction Company

15. Environmentalism & Economics for Working
Waterfronts & Sustainable RI Shellfish?
Dykstra’s Oyster House, Upper Point
Judith Pond, Wakefield ca1910
Why not?

16. Thank you for sustainable
RI shellfish from party
animals, everywhere!!
1852 Lithograph by Elijah Chapman Kellogg (1811-1881)