Past work

1887

The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries produced a multi-volume report titled The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States. A. Howard Clark edited the The Fisheries of Rhode Island chapter. It is a rather brief account of the shellfish resources and catch methods of the time.

1969-1970

Stolgitis, J.A., J.F. O'Brien, and M.J. Fogarty. 1976. Rhode Island Salt Ponds Fisheries Inventory. RI Dept of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife.

1977

Coastal Resources Management Council one year study of historical background of ponds and assessment of ecological changes.
This study produced An Elusive Compromise: RI Coastal Ponds and Their People, by Virginia Lee.

1978-1984

Coastal Resources Management Council development of Special Area Management Plan for the Salt Pond Region, adopted 11/27/84.

1979

The URI Salt Pond Project did a study with the following components:

Hydrodynamic modeling
Sediment transport
Nutrient sources and cycling
Aquatic vegetation
Fish and fisheries
Waterfowl ecology
Resource management

This produced a number of papers, focusing primarily on Ninigret, Trustom, Potter, and Point Judith Ponds.

1981

RI DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife, Hydrographic and Biologic Studies of RI Coastal Salt Ponds.

1987-1994

Connecticut College Loon studies at Weekapaug Beach.

1989

Satchwill, R.J. and R.T. Sisson. 1989. The Fisheries Resources of Quonochontaug Pond, Westerly and Charlestown, RI, 1989. RI DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife.

1993

US EPA Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) sampled one station in Quonochontaug. They measured:

Fish abundance
Benthic species abundance
Sediment toxicity to amphipods
Sediment chemistry (metals and organics)
Sediment grain size and composition
Water quality, surface and bottom

1994-1999

Coastal Resources Management Council revision of Special Area Management Plan for the Salt Pond Region, adopted 2/23/99.

1999

Marine Biological Laboratory eelgrass as finfish habitat study

1999-2000

US Army Corps of Engineers habitat restoration feasibility study

2000

Coastal Resources Management Council & RI DEM eelgrass survey

2000-2002

RI Sea Grant funded projects studying groundwater flow and eelgrass in the salt ponds.