Capt. Blount… servant to fish and fishermen
Capt. Frank Blount, owner of the
Frances Fleet, Narragansett, will be leaving the New England Fishery Management
Council (NEFMC) this year after multiple terms of service as a
councilperson.
John Bullard, chief administrator
of NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, said, “Frank has chaired
the Ground Fish committee for years.
It’s a committee that has seen a lot of controversy due to the poor
status of ground fish (particularly cod fish) in New England and Frank has done
an outstanding job. He will be missed.”
At last week’s NEFMC meeting in
Mystic, CT Capt. Blount made a motion that was approved by the council. The motion was to “Move
to request that the NEFMC ask the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA
Fisheries) to provide information on the level of compliance with ground fish
catch reporting by reconciling Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs) vs. SAFIS (fish
dealer) reports.” In other words does
harvester and dealer reports match, if they do not match there is
non-compliance and there may be something afoot.
The VTR and SAFIS reports were
established as a check and balance to make sure fish processors and fishermen
are reporting landings factually.
I
heard Frank make the motion and was overcome with a sense of pride to have such
a great fisherman from Rhode Island represent us on the Council.
Capt. Blount has also been an
advocate for fishermen on the subject of cod fish being caught in local waters. He has claimed that VTR logbook data from fishermen
indicates that there are far more cod fish in the waters south of Massachusetts
compared to the official stock assessments coming from the National Marine
Fisheries Service. Recent recreational
fishing activity and data reports off Rhode Island over the past two years seem
support this position.
Congratulations Frank! You have
done a great job serving Rhode Island, New England and the fish working on the
New England Council.
Cod fishing tips from the pros
“A
couple of years ago we wouldn’t be having this seminar on small boat cod
fishing close to shore because there were no cod.” said Capt. BJ Silvia of Flippin’ Out Charters at a RI Saltwater
Anglers Association seminar he and fishing partner Greg Vespe gave Monday
night.
The
commercial cod fishery in New England has suffered major blows with
recreational fishing north of Rhode Island being off too. In fact for a couple of years you could not
take any cod from the Gulf of Maine, and this year recreational anglers are
allowed to take one fish.
However,
in Rhode Island we have quite a different story (10 fish/person/day with a 22”
minimum size) with anglers catching multiple cod while tautog fishing this fall
with some early reports that cod fish are mixed in with the tautog this spring
too.
The
fall bite was so good that some were targeting cod close to shore off Newport
and very close to Block Island at the East Fishing Grounds in addition to
fishing in and around Cox’s Ledge. By no
means do we have a robust recreational cod fishery, however, it does seem to be
rebuilding here off Rhode Island.
Some
cod fishing tips from Capt. Silvia and Greg Vespe:
Cod
fish for the past couple of years have been small, so no need for heavy rigs, Capt. Silvia
said, “For cod, we have been using the rigs we use to fish for summer
flounder.”
To
avoid tangles and absorb shock when using braid line Greg Vespe suggests using a 20 foot, 50 pound
monofilament leader.
Avoid
dog fish (sand sharks) by
moving, sometimes just a bit further up on a ledge or a different spot entirely
and switch to jigs rather than using bait.
Bring
plenty of bait… sea clams, crabs as well as squid so you can take advantage of scup,
black sea bass, cod and tautog that may be in the area. “We have been on top of
some huge black sea bass when fishing for tautog or cod but the bite only picks
up when we put on some squid.” said Silvia.
Target
structure… ledges,
mussel beds etc., however some of our best cod fishing has occurred where
dolphins and whales are feeding.
‘Spring Aboard’ campaign promotes boating education
The Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management (DEM) is teaming up with the National Association of
State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) to promote boating education.
An informed and knowledgeable boat operator is much more
likely to recognize hazardous conditions on the water and avoid a mishap.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, only 12 percent of deaths occurred on
vessels operated by those with a boating education certificate; 77 percent of
boating deaths occurred on vessels where the boat operator never received
boating education instruction.
Remaining boating courses include ‘About Boating Safety’
being offered on May 14, Cross Mills
Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, Charlestown and on June 18 at the Neighborhood
Guild, 325 Columbia Street, Peacedale, RI.
To register call (401) 789-9301, or for more information contact David
Johnson at dgjdive1@verizon.net or call (401) 783-1170.
DEM also offers an online boater education course.
Participants must pass a proctored exam to receive certification. For more
information on Rhode Island boating laws and boating education courses, visit www.dem.ri.gov .
Forty-nine states and U.S. territories require proof of
completion of a boating education course for operators of some powered vessels.
In Rhode Island, successful completion of a boating safety course is required
for all boaters born after January 1, 1986 who operate a boat with a motor
greater than 10 horsepower; and for all operators, regardless of age, of
personal watercraft.
Newport Boat Show call for entries
Newport
Exhibition Group, owners and producers of the Newport International Boat Show,
are accepting applications for the 2016 Newport For New Products (NFNP) Awards.
Judged
by a team of marine-industry experts, NFNP winners for best new powerboat,
sailboat and multihull, best new navigation product, and best new product for
boat operation, maintenance, and safety will be announced on Friday, September
16th at the Industry Awards/Press Breakfast.
In
addition, attendees present on opening day will have the opportunity to vote
for their favorite new boat as part of the ‘People’s Choice Award’.
The
Newport International Boat Show will take place September 15-18, 2016 on the
Newport Waterfront, America’s Cup Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island. The Show is one
of the largest in-water shows in the country and with an assortment of boats of
every type and style, plus a variety of accessories, equipment, electronics,
gear and services for boaters. For more
information and to purchase tickets, visit www.newportboatshow.com.
Where’s the bite
Cod fishing is down from what it was a month ago
but some boats are still fishing and doing OK.
Cod fishing usually declines in April, some years very little fishing
occurs in April. However, last week some
larger fish were taken. Capt. Frank
Blount of the Frances Fleet said, “This weekend we boated a 28 pound cod and
the top angler took home a total of eight cod.
Other days this past week were good too.”
Striped
bass fishing is exploding. “Customers are catching fish in the 30” to 40”
range this week. It started last Thursday
when a large amount of Atlantic menhaden arrived in the Pawcatuck River. Anglers
are live lining and using chucked Atlantic menhaden as bait along with eels.” said
Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly.
Noted striper fly fisherman Ed Lombardo said, “We got into stripers last
Thursday at Narrow River. The school of bass where small but still a lot of fun
and so nice to feel that strike after a long winter! The tide was outgoing and
at 5:30 p.m. and then changed to incoming. Small white over purple flies and
all pink tide with craft fur worked well, size 1/0 .” Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick said, “School size bass
are being caught in Greenwich Bay and in our coves. “ “We have a huge volume (1,000 of fish) of
small school size striped bass in the six to twelve inch range at the Hurricane
Barrier in the Providence River this week.
One of my employees caught two 20 inch fish there this week. I predict
we will have keepers in the Bay next week.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State
Tackle, Providence.
Tautog fishing really has not picked up in
Rhode Island yet. The spring season
started April 15th with a 3 fish/person/day, 10 fish per boat limit.
Mike Wade of Watch Hill said, “This weekend a fifteen pound tautog was weighed in
at River End in Old Saybrook, CT. And
actually that is where the fish are being caught. Rhode Island waters are still just a little
cold for the tautog but in Connecticut it is a bit warmer and the tautog bite
is strong.” Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait
said, “Ken Landry gave tautog fishing a shot off Narragansett Saturday and did
pretty good and then fished for school striped bass in the Bay on the way back.
They caught keeper cod while targeting tautog.”
“The squid are in and a customer caught fifteen pounds
of squid this past weekend.”, said Dave Henault of Ocean Stare Tackle. Newport, Jamestown and the Sakonnet area all
had large amounts of squid this weekend.”
Freshwater fishing is excellent. Rhode Island DEM has restocked trout a second
time in some locations. For a list of
stocked and restocked water ways visit www.dem.ri.gov
. “The State of RI did an outstanding
job stocking ponds this year as all fishermen seem to be very happy. We have
some customers that have been fishing Carolina Trout Pond and have done
well. Anglers are starting to switch
from hatchery bait types to natural baits such as night crawlers and spinner
baits.” said Mike Wade of Watch Hill. Trout is not the only freshwater fish
biting… “I have already weighed in more five plus pound bass than I did all of last
year.” said Dave Henault of Ocean State.
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