Senator Creates National Lobster Day, Celebrates with Lobster Roll

In an effort to bring attention to the fishing and seafood industry in Rhode Island, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed stopped by Pier Nine in Newport on Friday to celebrate the first annual National Lobster Day.

It was a lovely day to be down by the water at The Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen, a co-op that serves seafood that is hauled in by local fishermen and made in a dockside kitchen.

It doesn’t get any fresher and along with getting a chance to enjoy lobster bisque, lobster cakes and a lobster roll, Reed had another good reason to be there in Newport for the first-ever day to celebrate the beloved — and delicious — lobster.

Reed helped create National Lobster Day.

A co-sponsor of legislation designating Friday Sept. 25 as National Lobster Day, Reed, along with Susan Collins of Maine and five other New England colleagues, sought to recognize the historic and economic importance of the lobster industry.

It’s a chance for lobster lovers to celebrate the crustacean’s culinary contributions as well as to shine a light on the lobster industry, which generations millions for the economy.

“We’re proud of our local lobstermen and women and the economic activity they generate,” Reed said. “These businesses are unique and irreplaceable. For generations, their hard work, resiliency, and dedication have been a vital part of our coastal communities. As consumer demand for sustainably harvested, wild-caught New England lobsters continues to grow, ‘National Lobster Day’ offers an opportunity to celebrate and appreciate an industry that supports hundreds of Rhode Island families and helps bring tourists to the area to enjoy delicious, freshly caught lobster and seafood.

In recent years, the fate of the lobster in Rhode Island waters has been a matter of serious concern. Local lobster populations have been on the decline since the 1990s.

Meanwhile, lobster populations along the Maine coast have been on the rise. Experts believe lobsters are leaving Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic coast in Southeastern New England and heading north due to warming water temperatures.

Lobsters here have also been afflicted by shell disease, which seems to occur more often as waters warm.

The Lobster Shack Kitchen is an outgrowth of the Newport Lobster Shack Cooperative at the state pier on Long Wharf, where fishermen have been selling their catch to the public since 2010.

The kitchen opened last year and has been heralded as a model for how Rhode Island can support and diversify the local fishing industry. It also epitomizes what sustainable seafood is all about — fresh, local and money staying in the local economy.

Longtime advocate in the state house for fishing issues, former Newport Rep. Peter Martin, said he visits the pier regularly and the Lobster Shack Kitchen is an important asset complimenting the fishing industry.

Martin worked to get a pair of bills passed in 2010 to bolster the industry, including one that created the Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative. The collaborative set out to find ways to steer more of the local catch into local markets and restaurants instead of it being shipped out of state. It also has been working with fishermen to strengthen marketing efforts.

Those efforts occurred as Martin served as the state legislative commissioner on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and as the state representative assigned to the DEM’s committee on sustainable seafood.