Could be worse

DEM: R.I. Fisheries Healthier Than They Seem 

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff

PROVIDENCE— Are Rhode Island's fish stocks doing better or worse? According to the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM), local fish and shellfish are healthier than it may seem.

“I think if there is one thing we could all resolve to do, it is to highlight the positives, because so many of the fishing press is about cod and groundfish collapse and disasters and there really ... are a lot positives and a lot more we can do to promote it,” DEM director Janet Coit said at a recent hearing of the Special Senate Task Force on Fisheries.

Monthly surveys by a DEM research vessel show that the total volume of fish swimming in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound has been constant from year to year, said Mark Gibson, DEM’s deputy chief of Marine Resources.

Yet, the health of individual fish stocks change. Gibson ranked the most popular fish and shellfish.

Lobster is described by Gibson as “depleted and in need of stock rebuilding.”

Squid, the most-caught commercial fish, is considered fully rebuilt. Gibson, however, said more research is needed to understand the science of species that have short lives.

Sea scallops earned Gibson’s highest ranking. “They are considered the gold standard of the New England Fisheries Management Council,“ he said. “They are very well managed. Industry and science cooperates to generate the best science can be.”

Summer flounder also earned a top ranking.

Quahogs are well below their peak from 20 or 30 years ago, Gibson said. “That’s of some concern.” More research is anticipated on quahogs from a new partnership between the University of Rhode Island and DEM.

Blue fish and monkfish are considered stable populations.

Striped bass stocks are considered fully rebuilt and stable.

Cod is unstable, but has been appearing off Block Island.

“Overall it looks like fairly good news,” said Sen. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown.

The DEM also touted new programs to benefit local fishermen, such as a plan to address the surge in Atlantic herring and restore menhaden stocks. DEM’s marine fisheries regulations will be simplified and shrunk from 361 pages to 100 pages. This spring, a $1 million federal grant will fund low-interest loans for ground fishermen.

As part of an overall aquaculture initiative, an oyster restoration project is underway for restoring oysters in Rhode Island waters.

Commercial fishing

Since the 1990s, the tonnage of seafood caught is down by almost half due to the decline of groundfish stocks and heavy regulation, according to Gibson. The dollar value and purchasing power of landings is about half of what it was in the 1980s.

Squid by far generates the most revenue for commercial fishing, at $20 million. Lobster sales generate about $13 million. Sea scallops earn $7 million. The Rhode Island fleet has 1,506 permitted state and federal fishing boats. The industry employs 4,968 workers and generates $201 million in annual sales. 

Chris Joy of Seafreeze Ltd., a large producer of frozen seafood, based out of the Port of Davisville in North Kingstown, asked the commission to encourage federal regulators for real-time management of short-lived species such as butterfish and squid.

“Sometimes (regulators) use trawl surveys that are five years old to manage fish and squid stocks. This makes no sense," he said. "They’re generations too late.”

Joy also wants Rhode Island to secure a seat on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, so that other states don’t block policies that help Rhode Island. “Our biggest competitor, based in Cape May, New Jersey, does not want Rhode Island on the council.”

Sosnowski praised Seafreeze for its plan to open a fish processing facility in Point Judith. A project that is expected to create 40 new jobs.

Recreational fishing

Gibson noted that recreational fishing delivers nearly the same economic value to Rhode Island as commercial fishing. Recreational fishing consists of 151,000 anglers, spending $135 million a year, while creating 2,056 jobs.

Last year, 5 million fish were caught through more than a million excursions on charter boats, private boats and shore fishing. The top five fish caught are scup, bluefish, black sea bass, summer flounder and tautog.

Climate change

“So there is dramatic changes taking place,” Gibson said. “This is being seen in many places around the world. It’s probably associated with climate change. (It's) creating winners and losers.”

Species such as mullet and spot fish are now common in Rhode Island waters, and commercial fishermen can catch them due to a lack of regulations, Gibson said.

Seasonal fish, such as scup, squid, butterfish, summer flounder and striped bass, have increased dramatically and are now more common than resident fish. “Narragansett Bay is now more hospitable to fish from the mid-Atlantic area,” Gibson said. “(The bay) is less hospitable to resident (fish) that naturally evolved for the southern New England area.”

Offshore wind

DEM said it’s collaborating with the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), URI, the Office of Energy Resources, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the fishing community on offshore wind projects.

Bill McElroy, of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association, was initially a skeptic of offshore wind. “At this point I have to say it’s been a pleasure to work with Deepwater Wind,” McElroy said. He called Deepwater Wind “a good corporate citizen” and praised them for engaging the fishing community.

“They’ve got plenty of people in the press that are happy to give them a hard time. I thought it would be good to point out they are trying to do some good as well," McElroy said.

Four initiatives

Coit outlined the DEM’s main projects. Many rolling out this spring.

• Seafood Marketing Collaborative. It has a new logo and website. This effort will promote retail sales of local seafood. With the help of Farm Fresh Rhode Island, it will establish and manage a market and distribution system.

“We need to make it clear to the consumer when they are buying it at the farmers market, restaurant or marketplace that it is a Rhode Island fresh product,” Coit said.

• Infrastructure Improvements. A $3 million improvement project is underway at the Port of Galilee. The project is funded through a federal grant and state funds. One project will include an upgrade of the electrical system at the port, so that fishermen aren’t running their diesel engines as frequently while docked.

• Shellfish Management Plan. The DEM is part of a collaborative plan with Roger Williams University, CRMC, Rhode Island Sea Grant and URI. The plan will aid aquaculture and wild shellfish harvests.

• Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Institute. A research-based institute will be created in collaboration with URI. “We came together and realized that we had a common set of challenges, which is we don’t have enough resources to do the research that we wanted,” Coit said.