Nice
brace of trout: Billy
Enright of Cranston holds a nice brace of trout the he and friends Autumn
Mitchell and Mike Manco (also of Cranston) caught by 6:30 a.m. on Opening Day.
First
Opening Day trout: Liam
Farrell (age 13) proudly displays his first trout with Uncle Sean FitzGerald (both
of Jamestown) as they fished with Alex (age 9) and Steve Greenberg of Narragansett.
Fisheries celebration
in DC
What a celebration I attended this week. April 13th was the 40th
Anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the fishing law of this
Nation. The celebration was held in
Washington, D.C. sponsored by six conservation groups lead by The PEW Trusts.
Like all anniversaries it was a time for reflection. To reflect on how successful the act has been
and how it needs to be adjusted in the future.
The MSA and its reauthorizations provided the teeth needed to set firm
allowable catch limits (ACL) which directly lead to 39 fish stocks being
rebuilt today. So we need to keep this law strong, and make sure it continues
to eliminate wiggle room so fishermen and fish managers have firm catch limits
to continue to rebuild fish stocks.
Additionally, moving forward MSA needs to be adjusted to
include things like enhanced forage fish protections, stronger by-catch
provisions and most important a big-picture eco-system based management
planning strategy. We need an eco-system
based management strategy because climate change and warming water has forced
some fish out of our waters and forced other species (like black sea bass and
summer flounder) into our area in greater numbers and present fisheries
management strategies are not handling these changes. Climate change, forage fish, stronger bycatch
provisions are not consistently incorporated into a big picture management
strategy and plan.
The 40th Anniversary celebration of the MSA in
Washington this week included informational meetings with members of congress
and their staff. Our Rhode Island,
Massachusetts and Connecticut congressional delegations and staff members met
with representatives from the commercial and recreational fishing community, the
New England Aquarium as well as a number of conservation groups in New England
to reflect on MSA successes and future adjustments needed.
So happy 40th Anniversary to the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. You have served the fish well.
Opening Day big success
The Opening Day of trout season
this past Saturday was a big success.
“I got one” said Liam Farrell (13
years old) from Jamestown as his uncle Sean FitzGerald looked on with pride. It was Liam’s first Opening Day fishing
experience. “It was tough getting up
early but well worth it.” said Liam. Billy Enright of Cranston said, “We have
been coming here for ten years. We
haven’t missed a year. The three of us
have about a dozen fish so far.” It was
6:30 a.m. and they had been fishing for about 30 minutes.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM)
did an outstanding job stocking ponds with 80,000 hatchery raised brook, brown
and rainbow trout this year. Over 100
waterways have been stocked and this year three new locations were stocked on
the Ten Mile River, marked by white trout fishing
signs, include the intersection of 114A and Hunts Mill Road and just below the
John Hunt House at 65 Hunts Mill Road. Visit www.dem.ri.gov
for a complete list of stocked ponds.
Proposed BIWF and sea2shore safety zones clarified
The scope of the draft Safety Area
(a 500 yard safety zone) that the USCG has published in the Federal Register
pertaining to the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) and the sea2shore cable run was
clarified last week by Ed Leblanc (USCG). In a note to Elizabeth
Marchetti, fisheries liaison, from Mr. Leblanc said "The Coast Guard's intent with respect
to the proposed safety zones is to enforce each individual safety zone
only when construction vessels are on-scene at an individual
turbine. As discussed in the proposal regulation, the Coast Guard intends
to create individual, 500-yard radius, safety zones around each turbine.
In essence, five safety zones, one for each turbine.
Vessels (other than BIWF construction vessels) will be precluded from
entering safety zone only when construction vessels are on scene.
So, for example, if there are construction vessels working on turbine #3,
but no work vessels at any of the other turbines, mariners must stay at
least 500 yards away from turbine #3, but are free to approach as close as
they want to turbines #1, 2, 4, and 5 (consistent with prudent and safe
navigation, of course).
If there are work vessels at both turbines #1 and #2, mariners must
remain clear of those two turbines but have full access to waters around
the other three, and so on."
A copy of the Federal Register
Notice and the place to submit comments on the proposed regulation by April 17th
is https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=USCG-2016-0026-0012.
Captains donate food and cash to Jonnycake Center
The Rhode Island Party &
Charter Boat Association (RIPCBA) held their annual captain’s banquet at Spain Restaurant
in Narragansett, RI with their favorite charity being recognized with
donations. John Rainone, RIPCBA past president
and donation coordinator said, “Captains and their guests attending the event
donated 242 pounds of food and $130 in cash to the Jonnycake Center
in Peace Dale. The Association has done
this for the past several years and we were happy to do it once again this
year. Great Job all.”
Roddy Fly Rodders to Meet April 19th
The Rhody Fly Rodders will
hold their annual cookout get-together on Tuesday, April 19th at 6:00
p.m. Members, guests and new comers are welcome to attend, enjoy the food and
talk about the upcoming fishing season.
A short film about fly fishing adventures will be shown, followed by a
brief presentation by Mike Bucko who heads of DEM’s new department
administering the Access
Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS). The meeting will take place at the
Riverside Sportsman’s Association, 19 Mohawk Drive, East Providence. Contact president Peter Nilsen with questions
at pdfish@fullchannel.net.
Where’s the bite
Freshwater fishing was hot this week with many bait & tackle
shops reporting brisk sales. Manny
Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle said, “Customers did very well at Willet Avenue
Pond, East Providence but found the Brickyard Pond, Barrington was not yielding
the fish it had in the past. Many had
seen cormorants and other birds working the pond and leaving with a lot of fish
so many anglers didn’t even fish there.
Popular baits this year included scented Power Baits such as chunky
cheese and other scented flavors. These
worked well in MA but in some Rhode Island ponds like Willett Avenue the fish
were biting just about anything anglers put in the water. In addition to the Power Baits a variety of
small silver lures were working well as well as spinner baits of all
types.” Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box,
Warwick said “We sold out of just about all trout baits this weekend including
trout worms and meal worms and had to replenish our inventory in a hurry.”
Spirited bass migration continues to move north. On-the Water’s Striper Migration map (http://www.onthewater.com/striper-migration-map-april-8-2016/
) indicates that the school bass are in southern Connecticut. However, there have been some reports of migrating
school bass being caught in the Pawcatuck River in Westerly. Mike Wade of Watch Hill Outfitters, Westerly said,
“There have been migrating bass caught right here in downtown Westerly at the
bridge (crossing the Pawcatuck River).” Manny
Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren said, “I checked with the
On-the-Water migration map, it was pretty reliable last year but also believe
that we can have some advanced schools of bass and it is very possible they are
in southern Rhode Island now.”
Cod fishing remains good in local waters offshore. Boats did not sail often last week due to bad
weather, but when they fished boats had fair trips, with lots of bait and cod
on fish finders. With improved weather all hope the good cod bite continues.
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