URI Grad Student Studying Effect Of Wind Farms On Jonah Crabs

Jonah crabs are becoming increasingly important to the local fishing industry, the University of Rhode Island graduate student said.

By Joseph Hosey, Patch Staff

May 19, 2026 4:29 pm EDT

KINGSTON, RI — A University of Rhode Island graduate student is studying the effect of wind farms on Jonah crabs.

“As the biomass of the American lobster declines due to climate-related changes and shifting ocean conditions, many fishermen have adapted by targeting other valuable species, and the Jonah crab has become a major alternative,” Emmanuel Oyewole, a first-year Ph.D. student in the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, said in a post on the university's website.

“The Jonah crab used to be considered a bycatch species and thrown back because lobster was so lucrative," Oyewole said. "As lobsters became less abundant, people started to realize that the Jonah crab is a viable and delicious alternative.”

Oyewole's study of the effect of offshore wind farms on the growth and habitats of Jonah crabs is partly funded by a grant from The Nature Conservancy, according to the post.

"Ecologically, Jonah crabs also play an important role in the marine food web,” Oyewole said. “They are both predators and prey, helping to maintain balance within benthic ecosystems. Because they are closely connected to seafloor habitats, they can help us understand how offshore wind farm structures may influence local biodiversity, habitat use, and the productivity of fisheries.”

The turbine foundations are desirable habitats for marine organisms, according to the post, and algae, barnacles, mussels and other small marine life attach to them and attract larger species.

"The turbines can create a kind of mini ecosystem," Oyewole said.

"They provide food and habitat, which can draw marine life into the area and potentially change how species use the surrounding environment,” he said. “The question is whether they are increasing the overall amount of marine life in the ocean by creating new production or simply concentrating animals that were already living in the surrounding areas.”