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News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
For Release: April 20, 2009
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402

DEM PLANS FIVE QUAHOG TRANSPLANTS, SEEKS SHELLFISHERMEN TO PARTICIPATE

First Transplant to be Held on Wednesday, April 29 in Warwick Cove

PROVIDENCE - Beginning on Wednesday, April 29, the Department of Environmental Management will conduct five quahog transplants to transfer an estimated 600,000 pounds of adult quahogs from high shellfish density areas in Narragansett Bay to shellfish management areas, the Potowomut spawner sanctuary, and two ponds in the Charlestown/Westerly area.

Shellfishermen wishing to take part in the transplants should report to the on-scene DEM enforcement patrol boat by 8 a.m. on the transplant day. DEM officers will collect shellfishing licenses to facilitate accounting. Shellfishermen will dig the quahogs and take them to the transplant staging area. The harvested quahogs will be loaded onto boats for transport to the spawning/management areas. Shellfishermen will be paid $5 for each 50-pound bag collected. Those also assisting in stocking the quahogs in the management areas will be paid $7 for each 50-pound bag. All transplants will take place between 8 a.m. and noon.

Transplants and their dates are:

  • Wednesday, April 29, from Warwick Cove, to the High Banks Management Area, the Bissel Cove/Fox Island Management Area, the Bristol Management Area, and the Potowomut Spawner Sanctuary;
  • Tuesday, May 5, and Wednesday, May 13, from Greenwich Cove, to the High Banks Management Area, the Bissel Cove/Fox Island Management Area, the Bristol Management Area, and the Potowomut Spawner Sanctuary. Some of the quahogs from the May 5 transplant will go to the Quonochontaug Pond in Charlestown/Westerly, and some from the May 13 event will be transplanted to Ninigret Pond in Charlestown.
  • Thursday, May 7, and Tuesday, May 19, from Apponaug Cove, to the High Banks Management Area, the Bissel Cove/Fox Island Management Area, the Bristol Management Area, and the Potowomut Spawner Sanctuary.
The decision to move quahogs to Bristol will be made based upon the number of East Bay participating shellfishermen and transport vessel availability. Transplanted shellfish will be unavailable for harvest until December. This will allow the shellfish to spawn and contribute toward replenishing the immediate vicinity and adjacent areas.

The shellfish transplant program, funded by commercial fishing license fees and monetary damages received from the Allen Harbor settlement, is a cooperative effort between DEM, the Narragansett Bay Commission, the shellfish industry, and the Department of Health, which tests shellfish before the transplants, and again prior to eventual harvest. Adult quahogs from past shellfish transplants have spawned, and the resultant sets of juvenile quahogs have helped to replenish depleted areas of the bay and provide a bountiful winter fishery. Previous efforts have enhanced the stock of shellfish in Greenwich Bay and waters in the vicinity of Quonset Point, Pine Hill, Hope Island, and in the Potowomut and High Banks Shellfish Management Areas.

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