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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM TO HOLD OCTOBER 24 PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO STATE COMMERCIAL FISHING LICENSING REGULATIONS The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. at the Corless Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island's Bay Campus on South Ferry Road in Narragansett. The hearing will include a presentation on the proposed changes by DEM staff. With regard to the quahog fishery, DEM is proposing four options based on attrition rates in the fishery. Two would maintain the 3:1 exit/entry ratio, and, in accordance with that ratio, issue between 16 and 32 new quahog endorsements on commercial fishing licenses. The other two call for a 1:1 exit/entry ratio, and, in accordance with that ratio, issue between 0 and 6 new quahog endorsements on commercial fishing licenses. The proposal is based on the most recent stock assessment for the Narragansett Bay quahog resource, which found that biomass has been relatively constant since the mid 1990s, while fishing mortality rates have dropped over the past several years. With regard to the finfish fisheries, DEM is not proposing to issue any new restricted finfish endorsements for 2008 due to substantially decreasing state quotas in three of the six restricted species, namely summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. With regard to the lobster fishery, DEM is proposing to allow anyone who obtains a lobster trap allocation, via the (still pending) trap allocation transfer program, to be able to fish their traps by obtaining a new trap endorsement. The Department is also proposing to control expansion of the non-trap lobster fishery by establishing a new non-trap lobster gear endorsement, making it available to all current licensees who are eligible to harvest lobsters commercially, and barring the issuance of any new such endorsements. The proposed measures for the lobster fishery are consistent with the state's continuing efforts to control effort in the fishery, pursuant to regional mandates. While there have been some recent indications of improvements, the southern New England lobster stock has not yet recovered from the significant declines in abundance and fishing performance that occurred in the first half of this decade. There are also proposals to possibly add a steamer clam endorsement and establish a control date to address the large influx of effort into this currently open category; a purse seine endorsement and control date to aid in the management of the menhaden fishery, and a pair trawling endorsement to aid in the management of the herring fishery. The draft regulations and management plans are available on DEM's website, www.dem.ri.gov, by clicking on "Marine Fisheries" under "Topics", and then clicking on "October 24 Public Hearing" at the left side of the page. Copies of the documents are also available at DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Stedman Government Center in Wakefield and at the Division's marine fisheries office at Fort Wetherill in Jamestown. In lieu of submitting comments at the hearing, written comments may be submitted to DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife, 3 Fort Wetherill Rd., Jamestown, RI 02835 no later than 12 p.m. on October 24, 2007. -30- |
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