Thirteen foot, 288 lb. thresher shark caught on Priority Too Charters from Snug Harbor, RI. Captain Rick Bellavance said Jeff Laroque and the crew from UPS were fishing with him Saturday when the fish was caught.
Last week the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) charged Albert Reeves of Rehoboth, MA with poaching striped bass. They said he had eleven illegal fish in a secret compartment in his boat. The story spread like wildfire through the fishing community. For a while it was the only topic at bait shops, on charter boats and on fishing blogs in Rhode Island.
DEM said they had information that Reeves was illegally taking over limits of striped bass in Rhode Island and selling them in Massachusetts and that he had the extra fish in a hidden compartment on his boat. The officers stopped him while driving on Route 1 in Rhode Island after fishing. Officers found a secret compartment that opened hydraulically with eleven (11) illegal fish (in addition to the two legal fish he had in his possession). The state seized Reeves’ boat and eqipment. His arraignment is scheduled for September 1.
RIDEM officers are familiar with Reeves. He was arrested, charged and pleaded NOLO in July of 2003 for the same offense. He was fined $450.00.
Poaching by anyone, recreational fishermen or commercial fishermen can have a negative impact on a fishery and fishing community. I asked a couple of anglers, charter captains and fishing authorities their thoughts on this poaching incident and if in general penalties should stay the same or be enhanced. Here’s what they had to say.
Captain George Cioe, Narragansett, RI…“I believe that when a vessel is designed to conceal criminal activity that it is a sure indication of habitual offense. Therefore the vessel should be seized and the funds given to DEM for future enforcement efforts or equipment.”
Steve Medeiros, president, Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Association…“We hope that this time the court will agree to seize his boat and equipment. A day's illegal catch can be valued at hundreds of dollars, and many poachers do this EVERY DAY! It is time for the fines for such violations be increased. It is time for the General Assembly to change the fisheries laws and allow for the increase of such fines.”
Captain Rick Bellavance, Priority Too Charters, president of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association… “I favor a modest fine for first time offenders.( I would suggest a temporary suspension of their commercial fishing license and a fine.) Repeat offenders should be subject to an increasing fine structure, to include forfeiture of their State Commercial Fishing License... Recreational fishing fine structure should also be reviewed with the possibility of loss of Salt Water License. According to MRFSS, Non-Compliance among many species is in double digit percentage of recorded intercepts. Due to the number of private anglers, this equates to a much larger number of illegal fish than are illegally harvested commercially.”
Grand opening for new Mt. Hope boat launch.
DEM held opening ceremonies for the Mount Hope Boat Launch Improvement Project in Bristol on Monday, August 16. The old boat launch located behind the RI Veterans’ Home has been replaced with a new, 60-foot wide concrete ramp and two floating courtesy docks. The new Mount Hope facility is accessible to boaters with disabilities.
DEM said a dredged channel from the new boat ramp location, which is north of the old Mount Hope boat ramp, into deep water will accommodate larger boats brought in by trailer to the new facility. This new ramp is the only public boat launching ramp of its size in the Rhode Island portion of Mount Hope Bay.
Menhaden advisory panel meeting
A meeting of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council Menhaden Advisory Panel has bee scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 6:00 P.M. at the URI Bay Campus, Coastal Institute, Hazard Room which off South Ferry Road in Narragansett, RI. Agenda items include the most up to date stock status and a review of current regulations and proposals for any changes to current regulations. Anglers interested in expressing their thoughts about menhaden regulations are urged to attend the meeting.
Clam regulations change back to the way they were
DEM filed new emergency regulations with the Secretary of State while rescinding emergency regulations that were filed the week before relating to the harvest of soft-shell clams from the newly opened shell fishing area near Conimicut Point. Effective immediately, time restrictions on the harvest of soft-shell clams in the shell fishing area near Conimicut Point have been eliminated. The area will be open from sunrise to sunset, as are other shellfish harvesting areas. The emergency regulations filed on August 5 limited the harvesting hours from sunrise to noon. The regulatory change was made after it became apparent that the time restriction had an unfair impact on clam diggers as they claim they usually can only harvest product during periods of low tide.
Where’s the bite
Striped bass fishing off Block Island remains good with blue fish mixed in. Anglers taking fish jigging (Diamond Jigs), with eels and tube and worm. Reports for several anglers and charter captains related that this week the best fishing has been on the south and southwest sides of the Island with the north rip still holding fish too. Fishing off Newport has produced fish too. For the second week in a room I caught a keeper bass under the Newport Bridge while fluking close to the swirling water around bridge piers.
Fluke (summer flounder) fishing has slowed down this past week due to the odd wind direction and juxtaposing tide, high seas. Fish still holding near coastal shores with no major reports of catches in the Bay. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said reports of fluke off Newport (Brenton Reef, the Inn at Castle Hill), off Jamestown (Beavertail and in front of Mackerel and Hull Coves). Tom of Erickson’s Bait &Tackle said the sand bar off the south side of Gould Island had been good too. Block Island fluke fishing is expected to improve this week with favorable winds and tides.
A great shark story
Off Shore fishing reports have not included bluefin tuna. Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters said, “…I would say tuna is slow and sharking is good. I did see some encouraging signs near Coxes, so the action will soon begin.” Captain Bellavance continued, Saturday “We hooked a Blue Shark which had a NMFS tag in him. After retagging the shark, I removed the old tag and let him go in good shape. … A couple hours go by with nothing, then the short line goes off. .. a 13 foot Thresher Shark comes flying out of the water.. The guys did a great job listening and fought the fish perfectly… the fish jumped a couple more times and after an hour, I stuck it with a harpoon, sunk a flying gaff into it and had a tail rope in place. Done. We packed it in and headed for Snug Harbor, where the fish weighed in at 288 pounds.” Captain Bellavance said, “Thresher Sharks are delicious food (like swordfish) and my customers wanted to eat it … If the shark was not good to eat, we would have tagged it for research and let it go.”
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