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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 6
February 2008
RI adopts new shellfish-opening timetables
NARRAGANSETT, RI – The Jan. 7 meeting of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council focused on making recommendations to the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) director concerning alternatives to state shellfish management area opening schedules.
Public comment on the proposals was gathered at a Jan. 3 meeting at the University of Rhode Island. Written submissions to the DEM also were reviewed and considered.
DEM Director Michael Sullivan attended the council meeting and listened intently as council member Jody King outlined the recommended proposal, which was initiated last summer by the Rhode Island Shellfishermen’s Association and fine-tuned in consultation with the council’s shellfish advisory panel.
The schedule was divided into two parts to separate the High Banks and other areas from Greenwich Bay, which was closed in December and January due to water quality concerns.
The council’s consensus recommendation to the director was Option 3, which Sullivan generally approved in a Jan. 10 decision letter.
For all shellfish management areas other than Greenwich Bay, including High Banks, there will be no change. All areas will remain open from the second Wednesday in December until the end of April on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 am to noon unless closed because of water quality concerns.
For the western Greenwich Bay management area, there is a three-part schedule:
The December schedule will be set annually subject to a 48-hour monthly harvest effort cap. The schedule, with staggered openings, is subject to adjustment if two days are lost. The first six openings will be from 8 am to 10 am, and the second six openings will be from 8 am to 11 am.
The post-December schedule is as follows. If the area is open during December, the area will remain open from January until the end of April every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 am to noon. If the area is closed in December, the first six opening will take place on the first six Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 am to 10 am. The second six openings will be on the second six Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 am to 11 am. After that, the area will remain open from 8 am to noon on all consecutive Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until the end of April.
During the week immediately preceding Memorial Day, the area will be open from 8 am to noon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Sullivan noted that the industry said it had two objectives in proposing the schedule changes: to help control the flow of product into the market when Greenwich Bay first opens; and to help maintain regulatory compliance with the three-bushel daily limit.
Sullivan acknowledged that one notable objection had been offered to the proposal. It was from DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement Chief Steven Hall, who wished to see more consistency on operational times in all management areas. The DEM director said that Hall’s point was taken and there would be additional discussions regarding operational times in the future.
Advisers
In other business, the council approved the scup/black sea bass advisory panel agenda, as well as the menhaden and groundfish advisory panel agendas. David Preble spearheaded a discussion to add a slot for bait and tackle representation to the summer flounder advisory panel, which the council endorsed in a 7-1 vote.
Nancy Scarduzio of DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the applications for advisory panel positions, and Rich Fuka was nominated and approved for the vacant groundfish gillnet slot.
Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association President Chris Brown had been expected to give a presentation on a fluke sector pilot program, but the presentation was postponed until after the Rhode Island Sea Grant sector workshop, which was held Jan. 15-16. Brown is expected to speak at the February meeting of the council.
Council member George Allen closed the meeting with a talk on the recovery of winter flounder in Mount Hope Bay and the greater Narragansett Bay ecosystem.
Apparently, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a final permit for the Brayton Point Station power plant together with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act. The permit is designed to substantially reduce the facility’s impact on Mount Hope Bay, according to the EPA newsletter and other publications.
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