Ebben Howarth’s childhood on Block Island is packed with memories surrounding a popular summer staple: lobsters.
“My grandfather was a lobsterman so he would always go out and he would be on the boat catching the lobsters during the day and they’d bring it into the restaurant,” said Howarth, whose grandparents ran Finn’s Seafood Restaurant on the island. “Attached to the restaurant was also a fish market, so he’d sell the lobsters at the fish market and they’d cook them up in the kitchen.”
Howarth, 25, said he had an epiphany several years ago — if he didn’t get into lobstering, it was only a matter of time before there’d be no more commercial lobstermen on Block Island.
“I felt this pull to just go out and try it and see if it was something that spoke to me and something that I enjoy doing,” he said. “And when I went out there, it was really, really special. It was really, really good quality time with my grandfather. And I just like being on the water. I like the work itself. It’s exciting, it’s rewarding.”
Howarth became a commercial lobstermen seven years ago, joining a profession that is quickly shrinking. According to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, in 2006 there were 319 commercial lobstermen in Rhode Island. In 2023, there were 97.
“It’s tough work and there’s easier ways to make money nowadays, and I think that if people are given the option then they’ll probably go for an easier, more safe, more consistent way of life,” Howarth said.
In 2000, lobstermen in Rhode Island brought almost 7 million pounds of American lobster to shore, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Meanwhile, in 2023 they landed just over 1 million pounds. Scientists say climate change is depleting Rhode Island’s lobster population. Since 1960, Narragansett Bay has warmed by 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
Jeremy Collie, a professor at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, has been studying lobsters for decades.
“Lobsters have a fairly narrow preferred temperature range from about 54 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit,” Collie said. When lobsters are in warmer waters, they exert more energy in metabolism, he said, leaving them with less energy to grow and reproduce.
“If the water’s colder than 50 degrees or warmer than 68 degrees … they’ll try to avoid those temperatures because their survival would be diminished if they stayed in water that was either that cold or that warm,” said Collie, who described the lobster population in southern New England as depleted.
A weekly trawl survey at URI, overseen by Collie, shows the population of lobsters in Narragansett Bay peaked in the mid-1990s. These days, Collie said, it’s at historically low levels.
“I think ultimately with climate change, with increased temperatures, this area may become unsuitable habitat for lobsters,” Collie said. “We’re kind of at the southern end of the distribution, and so there’s always a risk that we’re going to lose that population altogether.”
It typically takes five to seven years before a lobster is big enough to be harvested, but Collie said many are dying long before that. Young lobsters look like small insects, which make great prey.
“The predators are mainly other fish species,” Collie said.
Jon Grant has been a lobsterman on Block Island for more than 40 years. He said more fishermen are finding baby lobsters in the stomachs of their predators.
“I see it from other guys who catch the scup or the sea bass, and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, look, baby lobster here, you know,’” Grant said. “And now there’s seals. I mean, we never used to see a seal here past the end of April or early May, and now they’re here all year round. And what are they eating?”
Grant sells lobsters from his boat on the Old Harbor Dock. He said the atmosphere has changed as fewer lobsters have been found.
“There’s no fights on the dock anymore, and there’s so much less stress,” Grant said. “That part of it is great, and I wouldn’t really trade that for anything.”
Despite that silver lining, those who are catching lobsters in the Ocean State face plenty of challenges, including decades of pulling up lobsters infected with shell disease. It’s an infection on the animal’s outer shell.
“That’s actually a bacteria that infects the shell and in extreme cases it can kind of start to kill them and make them a little bit more lethargic and create infection beneath the shell,” Howarth said.
Research shows warmer water temperatures have been correlated with higher rates of shell disease. Howarth said lobsters with shell disease sell for less money per pound. Shell disease leaves lobsters with circular lesions, but Howarth said it doesn’t affect the taste of the lobster meat or cause harm to those who eat it.
“What I’ve incorporated into my business model is buying the shell disease or picking the shell disease that I catch, sourcing it from other local fishermen and then selling lobster meat prepackaged by the pound,” Howarth said. “It’s kind of a workaround that I’ve come up with to be able to still use all the shell disease that I’m pulling in.”
Howarth typically spends two days a week fishing. When he is not on the boat, he runs his business, Sediment: a sea-to-table catering service with his fiancée, Maddy Murphy.
“We take the lobster that I was catching, we team up with my mother who is a produce farmer, steal kale from her garden, herb from her garden, and just bring a simple lobster bake to your table, pack everything in, pack everything out, take the hassle out of what eating lobster is for a lot of people is the mess,” Howarth said.
Both Howarth and Grant collect research on lobsters for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, including how many have shell disease and the severity of it. They receive a stipend for their work. Howarth said he hopes the information helps shed light on how marine life is changing around Rhode Island, where he says he’s living his dream.
“I love that I get to be on the water. I love that I get to connect with other people and the local food industry, and it’s just a really good feeling seeing that process through. It’s really, really gratifying,” Howarth said. “I hope that in five years I’m still doing that.”
