|
Do I need a license to take finfish from the salt waters of Rhode Island? |
If you plan to sell the fish you need a commercial fishing license. For recreational fishing no license is necessary. All fishermen must abide by regulations on legal size, seasons, and/or possession limits. |
|
How can I find out the legal sizes, seasons, and/or possession limits? |
For a chart showing recreational and commercial sizes, seasons, and possession limits, click Legal sizes, seasons, possession chart |
|
What is the cost of a commercial/recreational license? |
License fees vary according to use and residency. |
|
May I take shellfish without a license? |
R.I. residents can take a resident shellfish limit recreationally without a license. Non-resident property owners and other non-residents must possess a recreational shellfish license. |
|
Where can I shellfish? |
See Viewable Shellfish Closure Maps |
|
May a R.I. resident take lobsters recreationally? |
Yes, however, a recreational license is required. A resident can purchase either a pot license or a diving license for a fee of $40/year. |
|
What is the definition of a "resident"? |
A "resident" is defined as "an individual who has had his/her actual place of residence and has lived in the State of Rhode Island for a continuous period of not less than size (6) months" [RIGL 20-1-3] |
|
May a non-resident take lobsters? |
No, only license legal Rhode Island residents can take lobsters. |
|
When is oyster season? |
Oyster season is open from September 15 through May 15, annually. |
|
When is scallop season? |
Scallop season opens at sunrise on the first Saturday in October and closes at sunset on December 31, annually. |
|
What are the dates of "Seasonally Closed" Shellfish Management Areas? |
Seasonal Closures in Shellfish Management Areas are in effect from sunrise the Saturday just before Memorial Day until sunrise the Tuesday just after Columbus Day, annually. |
|
How do you measure a fish? |
Rhode Island legal minimum possession size is determined by Total Length of the fish, that is, measured from the tip of the snout to tip of the tail. |
|
How do you measure a lobster? |
Rhode Island legal minimum possession size is determined by carapace length. That is measured from the rear of the eye socket along a line parallel to the center of the body shell to the rear of the body shell. |
|
May I take bait with a net? |
Beach Seines - Recreational bait nets -- Marine species may lawfully be taken for personal use provided that all existing minimum size and possession limit restrictions for the species possessed are adhered to. Also a limit of two quarts per person is allowed for all unregulated marine species. Nets being used cannot exceed four (4) feet in depth and twenty (20) feet in length. |
