On Monday, November 17, 2014, state agencies, project managers, researchers, stakeholders, and funders celebrated Rhode Island’s first comprehensive shellfish management plan at the University of Rhode Island. The Humanities Council was proud to join the celebration as a funder of Rhode Island’s Shellfish Heritage: An Ecological History, a resource created by the URI Coastal Institute to frame the Shellfish Management Plan within the history and culture of Rhode Island. The book documents the historical and current perspectives, memories, and narratives of Rhode Island’s shellfish community in order to better understand, honor, and promote the cultural importance of shellfish to the state. Judith Swift, director of the URI Coastal Institute, announced this forthcoming book, describing it as a “marriage of science and the humanities.”
The Shellfish Management Plan, a milestone public, private sector, and community effort to protect and enhance the state’s shellfish resources and industry, is a partnership between the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Sea Grant, Rhode Island Department of Health, and statewide professional shellfishermen. Additional funders include Roger Williams University, The Prospect Hill Foundation, The Rhode Island Foundation, the vanBeuren Charitable Foundation, and The Sharpe Family Foundation/Henry and Peggy Sharpe.
