Capt. Eric Thomas of Teezer 77 Guide Service will be one of
three panelists on “How to catch spring striped bass” Monday, February 29, 7:00
p.m. at the West Valley Inn.
Controversial regulation options take center stage
Recreational anglers and commercial
fishermen met Tuesday night with the Department of Environmental Management’s Marine
Fisheries Division at a public hearing to express their thoughts on regulation options
for the 2016 fishing season.
A 23% black sea bass (BSB) reduction
mandated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the
start date of the commercial striped bass season were two meeting highlights
that created spirited discussion.
Seven different recreational black
sea bass options were discussed but the one option that won the favor or both
private anglers and party and charter boat captains was an option suggested by
ASMFC Rhode Island representatives after initial conversations with fish
mangers in Connecticut and New York. The
option, that would be the same for RI, CT and NY state receiving good support,
was a 14” minimum size BSB, with three fish/person/day between July 22 to
August 31 and five fish/person/day between
September 1 to December 31.
Recreational anglers liked the idea
as it spread out the number of fish throughout the season, charter and party
boats liked the enhanced catch limit compared to other options on the table (although
last year’s fall/winter limit was seven fish). Also, having a consistent
regulation between the three states would even the playing field for party and
charger boats in the tristate area. The
hope is the CT and NY will agree to the tristate agreement.
Another meeting highlight was the
start date of the commercial striped bass season. Bay commercial fishermen wanted an earlier start
to the season as striped bass first migrate into the Bay in May (following
Atlantic menhaden that spawn in Rivers in the upper part of the Bay).
Bay fishermen wanted a May 15
season start date to capitalize on early spring stripers. However, those commercial fishing who fish in
the lower part of the Bay, off coastal shores and around Block Island wanted a
later season start of June 8. Striped
bass are more prevalent in these waters starting in mid-June and July.
Michael McGivney, president of the
RI Shellfisherman’s Associations, said, “Many shellfishermen are commercial striped
bass fishermen in the Bay. A later
season start creates hardship for them as the fish quickly leave the upper Bay
early in the season. As a member of the
Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Committee fish dealers and fish retailers have
said they would like to even out the supply of fish (striped bass) over a
longer period of time to create market consistency.”
There are many more lower Bay and
ocean striped bass commercial fishermen than upper Bay commercial fishermen (certainly
at the meeting) so fish managers had and will have a difficult time determining
which way to go the issue. Commercial
striped bass fishermen fish against a fixed quote. When it is reached fishing shuts down. It
would be great to reach a compromise date, but quite frankly as many attending
the meeting Tuesday said, “This argument has been going on for years.”
All fishing regulations options
with comments from the public hearing will go before the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries
Council (RIMFC) on March 7 for their review and recommendation. The RIMFC recommendations will all public hearing
input is then presented to and reviewed by Janet Coit, DEM director, for decisions
on final 2016 fishing season regulations.
How to land spring striped bass
If you like to
fish for spring striped bass don’t miss the “Fishing for Spring Striped Bass”
seminar at the RI Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) meeting Monday,
February 29, 7:00 p.m. at the West Valley Inn, West Warwick. Striped bass
experts Capt. Randy Bagwell of River Rebel Charters, Capt. Eric Thomas of
Teezer 77 Guide Service and local striper surfcasting expert Dennis Zambrotta
will conduct a panel discuss on how to land these spring prizes from shore or
boat.
Everyone is
welcome to attend. Non-members are
requested to make a $10 donation to the RISAA Marine Fisheries College
Scholarship Fund and RISAA members attend free. Optional dinner served by the
West Valley Inn from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Visit www.risaa.org for additional information.
Fly casting clinic April 23rd
The Rhode
Island School of Fly Fishing (www.RISchoolofFlyFishing.com) will be
conducting a half-day fly casting clinic on April 23rd in Colt State Park,
Bristol, Rhode Island. Check-in/registration will start at 8:00 a.m. with the
classes running from 9:00 a.m. until noon.
The instructors
will be Capt. John Lemont, Capt. Bob Hines and Capt. Jim Barr. John and Jim are
Certified Fly Casting Instructors as qualified by the International Federation
of Fly Fishers/ Livingston, Montana.
The class will
be limited to fifteen (15) students so that we have a good instructor to
student ratio guaranteeing considerable individual attention. The classes will
consist of two tracks, one for beginners and the other for
intermediate/advanced casters. Students are encouraged to bring their own
equipment however rods will be available for students who do not have their
own.
The tuition for
the class is $50 per student. For further information and registration please
contact Capt. Jim Barr at the Rhode Island School of Fly Fishing, 401-465-8751,
or email: JamesBarrRI@gmail.com.
Grover Fugate to address Trout Unlimited on Ocean SAMP program
The Narragansett Chapter of Trout
Unlimited (TU225) will hold its February 2016 monthly membership meeting on
Wednesday, 24 February 2016, 6:30 p.m., at the Coventry/West Greenwich Elks
Lodge, 42 Nooseneck Hill Road (Rte. 3, Exit 6 off of Rte. 95), West Greenwich,
R.I.
Grover
Fugate, a TU225 member and executive director of the Coastal Resources Management
Council (CRMC) will present on Rhode Island’s Ocean Special Area Management
Plan (Ocean SAMP). The program is Rhode
Island’s ocean spatial plan for how to both develop and implement a program
that gives Rhode Islanders a significant role in determining how the state’s
offshore waters should be developed.
The SAMP program as fully as
possible tries to understand how the ocean waters off of Rhode Island are
already being used by people and wildlife, develop regulations to minimize
conflict between the varied uses, determine where offshore renewable energy
should be sited and managed, and gain public approval and buy-in for the
process and its future goals. The Ocean
SAMP helped guide the siting of Rhode Island’s first offshore wind farm in
state waters off Block Island and will direct the future siting of
utility-scale wind farms in Rhode Island Sound.
This plan is evolving into the leading national model for how to both
develop and implement such a plan.
Contact chapter president, Ron
Marafioti, at (401) 463-6162, with any questions.
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