Capt.
Brandon Hagopian (right) of B-Hagz Bait and Adventures charters, said, “Squid
and monster fluke will soon be here. Last year at the beginning of May we went summer
flounder fishing after dropping off a night squid charter and caught seven
double digit fluke.”
NOAA
cuts bad for fishing and much more
Staff,
budget and research reductions outlined for NOAA in a Trump Administration NOAA
‘Passback memo’ on their budget would be devastating. Devastating for US agriculture, shipping,
fishing, weather safety and the security of our nation as critical military
missions could not run effectively without good weather reports.
The
Whithouse plan outlined in the ‘Passback memo’ to NOAA on its budget from the
Office of Management and Budget will gut NOAA and smother climate research. The
memo to NOAA eliminates the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research as a
line item and slashes NOAA Fisheries budget, for a copy of the memo visit NOAA Passback | DocumentCloud.
Already
important weather satellite maintenance is not being done and fishery stock
assessments are being curtailed due to budget reductions.
Our
economy in Rhode Island relies on NOAA to drive a billion dollar a year fishing
and seafood industry.
Reductions
outline by the administration will directly impact fishing by reducing funds spent
on stock assessments which drive sustainable fishery management plans for important
commercial and recreational species. A
lack of information on how stocks are doing will increase overfishing and add
to fishing plan uncertainty which will likely reduce allowable catch limits
across the board, particularly for recreational fishing as extraction rates are
estimates.
NOAA’s
ability to provide fisheries research and analysis to support conservation and sustainable
resources will be reduced, ocean exploration (a lot of it conducted by URI’s Graduate
School of Oceanography) and specie research will be gone, storm surge warnings in
real time will be gone, enhancements and conservation efforts in Narragansett
Bay and its estuaries will be gone as well as important partnerships and
funding of collaborative efforts as we know them from such organizations as RI
Sea Grant will be gone with this new administration’s plan
As
a nation and state we need to let our US senators and representatives know how much
we do not want these cuts and/or the gutting of NOAA. Send your congress person an email or call them and let them
know they need to take action, you can find the names of US House members at https://www.house.gov/representatives , contact information for US Senators at https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm.
It is important to have friends and relatives in other states do the
same, particularly those with controlling party Republican senators and
congress persons.
Environmental DNA Research
Environmental DNA—eDNA—is loose
genetic material shed by organisms in the environment. This can include mucus,
feces, and tissue particles. It can be collected from seawater, extracted, and
compared to sequences in reference libraries to identify species or marine
communities that were present where the water sample was collected.
NOAA is using a similar approach to
reveal predator and prey relationships by analyzing DNA found in the feces or
stomach contents of marine animals. This innovative technology is a
game-changer. For information on how
NOAA is using DNA to improve ecosystem and habitat research and stock
assessments visit Northeast
eDNA Research | NOAA Fisheries.
New way to measure striped bass in Massachusetts
Beginning in 2025, the method of measuring a striped bass for
compliance with recreational and commercial size limits in Massachusetts has
been modified. Fishers must now pinch the tail together when measuring a
striped bass to confirm it is of legal harvestable size. All size limits for
striped bass are in total length. Total length is to be measured as the
greatest straight-line length (not over the curve of the body) in inches from
the anterior most tip of the jaw or snout, with the fish’s mouth closed, to the
farthest extremity of the tail, with the tail squeezed together.
Where’s
the bite?
Striped
bass fishing for holdover striped bass
(fish that did not migrate south) continues to be very good with anglers
catching keeper striped bass 28” to
< 31”.
East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author said, “The
water temperature, in the 40s, is still too cold for the first good arrival of
striped bass, but anyone following the northern migration knows that the first
school is getting closer. In the meantime, check out your fishing gear to be
sure that everything is in good shape. There are very few Canal surfcasters
wetting a line this early in the season, but plenty of service road walkers are
out and about. Actually, there are more guys holding dog leashes right now than
surf rods!” Capt. Brandon Hagopian of
B-Hagz Baits and Adventures charters (bhagzbaits@gmail.com), said, “I am catching new striped at the
herring runs on big swimbaits and rubber shads in Narragansett Bay.” Herring run rivers or waterways include
Apponaug Cove, Warwick; Narrow River, Narragansett; and the Barrington and
Warren Rivers to name a few.
Tautog fishing is getting better every day and
should until the season closes for spawning on May 31. “The tautog bite is just getting
better. I have been catching fish in the
mid to upper Narragansett Bay for about a week.
They are in shallows with a sandy bottom around structure to warm
up. They’re hitting Asian crabs and clam
bellies best,” said Capt. Brandon Hagopian of B-Hagz Baits and Adventures
charters. “The smaller the bait the
better this time of year. The end of the
incoming tide and beginning of outgoing
tide has been the magic tide.”
Freshwater trout fishing is still a good bet with trout stocking recently occurring in RI and MA waterways. For complete regulations, a list of stocked ponds, and a copy of the RI Freshwater Fishing Regulations and Guide visit Fish & Wildlife | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and in Massachusetts visit Freshwater Fishing | Mass.gov.