RI: DEM ANNOUNCES 2011 RECREATIONAL SALTWATER FISHING REGULATIONS

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DEM ANNOUNCES 2011 RECREATIONAL SALTWATER FISHING REGULATIONS



PROVIDENCE - The RI Department of Environmental Management has enacted final recreational fishing regulations for marine fisheries for the 2011 season. The regulations for one species – black sea bass – are still being finalized. All of the other recreational fishery management programs have been finalized, and are now in effect for 2011, following a series of public meetings, review and advice by the RI Marine Fisheries Council, and final decisions by DEM Director Janet Coit.



As a reminder, all nonexempt fishers and spearfishers must have a RI recreational saltwater license (or equivalent license or registration issued by another state or the federal government) in order to fish legally in marine waters. Fishing licenses are required, but free, for Rhode Island residents over 65 and for active military personnel stationed in the state. For all others, the fee is $7 for residents and $10 for non-residents. Visit www.saltwater.ri.gov for more information or to purchase and print a license online.



The major changes to recreational fishing regulations for 2011 are as follows:



· For tautog, an extended spawning closure, now covering all of June and July;



· For summer flounder (fluke), a decrease in the minimum size (to 18.5”), and an increase in the daily possession limit (to 7 fish/person);



· For winter flounder, a year-round prohibition on the harvest of winter flounder from Point Judith Pond, including the Harbor of Refuge; and



· For menhaden (pogies), a 200 fish/vessel limit in the Providence River and Greenwich Bay.

The management of the commercial menhaden fishery is also of particular interest to recreational anglers. Effective this year, commercial purse seining for menhaden is prohibited in the Providence River (north of a line running from Rocky Point to Conimicut Point to Nayatt Point), as well as in Greenwich Bay. All other areas of the Bay will be open, if the biomass of fish exceeds the regulatory threshold.



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The following is a summary of the recreational saltwater fishing management programs, in effect for 2011, for all species of major interest to RI anglers:



Striped Bass – 28” minimum size, 2 fish/person daily limit, open season.



Tautog – 16” minimum size, and three split seasons: from April 15 to May 31 (3 fish/person daily limit); August 1 to October 14 (3 fish/person daily limit); and October 15 to December 15 (6 fish/person daily limit). A fishery-wide closure, to protect the fish during their spawning period, will be in effect from June 1 to July 31. At all times when the fishery is open, there is a limit of 10 fish/vessel daily limit (superseding the per-person limits). Party and charter boats are subject to the same regulations, except they are not subject to the 10 fish/vessel limit.



Summer Flounder (Fluke) – 18.5” minimum size, 7 fish/person daily limit, May 1 to December 31 season.



Scup – 10.5” minimum size, 10 fish/person daily limit, May 24 to September 26 season. For party and charter boats, two split seasons: June 8 to September 6 (10 fish/person daily limit); and September 7 to October 11 (40 fish/person daily limit).



Winter Flounder – 12” minimum size, 2 fish/person daily limit, and two split seasons: April 24 to May 23, and September 25 to October 24. Narragansett Bay and Point Judith Pond, including the Harbor of Refuge, are closed to winter flounder fishing at all times.



Bluefish – no minimum size, 10 fish/person daily limit, open season.



River Herring – statewide fishery closure remains in effect.

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SPRINGTIME REMINDER FOR RECREATIONAL SALTWATER FISHERS:

BAIT, TACKLE, LICENSE!



Licenses are Required for all Non-exempt Anglers and Spearfishers and may be Obtained

Online and at Participating Bait and Tackle Shops



PROVIDENCE, R.I. – With spring in the air, and the 2011 saltwater fishing season about to get underway, the Department of Environmental Management reminds anglers and spearfishers that a 2011 saltwater fishing license is needed to fish recreationally in marine waters. Obtaining a license is easy. Just go to www.saltwater.ri.gov. Have a driver’s license or state identification card handy, as well as your date of birth, address, and phone number. Fishing licenses are required, but free, for Rhode Island residents over 65 and for active military personnel stationed in the state. For all others, the $7 fee ($10 for non-residents) is payable using a VISA, MasterCard or Discover card. Once the information is entered, you can immediately print your license and go fishing! Anglers and spearfishers also have the option of purchasing a license at participating bait and tackle shops and sporting good stores, using cash or a credit card. A list of participating vendors may be found on the www.saltwater.ri.gov website.



No license is needed for children under 16; anglers fishing on a licensed party or charter boat; anglers who hold a Highly Migratory Species Angling permit; anglers or spearfishers who are on leave from active military duty; or anglers or spearfishers who are blind or permanently disabled.



The Rhode Island license is inexpensive and covers you wherever you want to fish – all Rhode Island marine waters, all offshore federal waters, the waters of neighboring states, and all other reciprocal state marine waters throughout the United States. The federal registration is honored in Rhode Island water, but it now costs $15, and it is not honored by neighboring states.



The Rhode Island license expires at the end of each calendar year. So anyone who obtained a Rhode Island license in 2010 must obtain a new license for 2011, if they plan to fish this year.



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The purposes of the Rhode Island license program are twofold. First, all Rhode Island license information, as well as that collected by the federal government and other states, is being incorporated into a new national “phone book” of recreational anglers, enabling the new Marine Recreational Information Program to readily survey current fishermen and more accurately assess recreational catch and effort data. That information will lead to improved state-based assessments and more fair, accurate, and effective management programs for Rhode Island’s marine recreational fisheries. Second, the license fee revenues, which are held in a protected account, are solely dedicated to enhancing recreational fishing opportunities in Rhode Island and supporting improvements to Rhode Island’s recreational fisheries. The program also covers its own administrative and enforcement costs, and is thus self-supporting.



Additional information on the program is available at www.saltwater.ri.gov.