The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) along with local farmers, aquaculture associations, universities and government agencies celebrated RI Agriculture Day (and aquaculture), May 1st in a big way. Forty eight exhibitors displayed and served their products at the Rhode Island State House.

Senator Michael McCaffrey of Warwick who introduced himself to Wrights Dairy Farm & Bakery family members Ellen Puccetti and Elisabeth Dulude said, "I never had a cupcake like this before, I was going to stop at your place just last week in North Smithfield."

In addition to product displays about a hundred twenty-five people attended a ceremony to award $210,000 in grants to seventeen entities for the development of aquaculture/

seafood and agriculture initiatives designed to continue to kick-start both the seafood and agriculture industries. Janet Coit, DEM executive director, said, "One of our achievements to market seafood this year was the development of a RI Seafood brand label that approved participants (they must meet criteria) can utilize on locally caught products. Five companies have applied to use the seal." The idea will be to market fresh RI seafood for its nutrition value, quality of taste and freshness while promoting local fishermen.

Senator Susan Sosnowski, chair of the Senate Environmental and Agriculture Committee (who runs a family farm in South County) and Representative Art Handy, chair of the House Environmental and Natural Resource Committee, spoke at the grant award ceremony along with Bob Rheault of the Ocean State Aquaculture Association.

Institute will promote sustainable fisheries

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the University Of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) announced the formation of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Institute (RIMFI) which is a research collaboration that aims to sustain fisheries in Rhode Island. RIMFI will coordinate marine fisheries science, research and educational activities. It will serve as a link between marine fisheries programs at DEM and URI serving as the focal point for collaboration with the Rhode Island commercial and recreational fishing communities.

The formation of RIMFI was announced Monday at an overview session at the URI Bay Campus Mosby Center which included an agreement signing ceremony with URI Graduate School of Oceanography Dean Bruce Corliss and DEM Director Janet Coit, followed by words of support from Congressmen James Langevin.

Jason McNamee, DEM marine biologist and one of the principle architects of the Institute said, "The Institute was an idea that Mark Gibson had (Gibson is Deputy Chief of Marine Fisheries at DEM). He encouraged us to form the Institute. The concept is based on the successful model developed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the University of Massachusetts." McNamee continued to say, "The RIMFI will utilize the strength and resources of Rhode Island fishing industries (both commercial and recreational) for marine fisheries research."

The primary objective of the new Institute is to develop and undertake innovative and practical fisheries research projects that will contribute to the scientific understanding and sound management of the marine fisheries resources of the State and region, and to the economic growth and stability of the commercial and recreational fishing industries that rely upon those resources.

Professor Jeremy Collie, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, worked with DEM's McNamee to develop the Institute proposal. Professor Collie said the projects developed by the RIMFI will be collaborative in nature with Rhode Island's fishing industry, both recreational and commercial. The ideas for the collaborative projects will be developed through steering meetings to be held between the RIMFI and Rhode Island fishing industry stakeholders.

Collie said, "Possible projects might include the impact of climate change on lobster and shellfish; specie specific research on recreational summer flounder (fluke), black sea bass and river herring fisheries; squid and windowpaine founder; as well as scup processing to name a few."

Jason McNamee said the hope is that other educational institutions such as Roger Williams University (Dr. David Taylor), NOAA (their Narragansett, RI research lab directed by Dr. Jonathan Hare), Save-the-Bay, the Nature's Conservancy and other NGOs doing fisheries and eco-system research will collaborate and become part of the Institute's work. "We wanted to first have the two founding partners… URI and DEM… agree on RIMFI's mission before getting others to join."

"[The Institute] is a model that puts Rhode Island's best foot forward: marine fisheries scientists, researchers, and managers from the state agency and the state university, working together with industry to develop strong science to inform the fisheries management process and achieve robust and sustainable fisheries," said DEM Director Janet Coit.

Where's the bite

Striped bass. The good news is that the spring run of striped bass are here, however, they are the advance run of small school bass with large fish behind them. Al Conti of Snug Harbor Bait & Tackle, South Kingstown said, "They caught school bass in big numbers this weekend at the West Wall (of the Harbor of Refuge) with two anglers that I know of catching keepers size bass (28" or over)." I worked on my boat at Gardner's Wharf, North Kingstown Saturday and school bass were swirling in Wickford Cove. Jason Macedo of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, said, "School bass are in but no reports of anyone catching a keeper bass but customers are buying clams to fish for bass." Last week Ken Ferrara of Ray's Bait & Tackle, Warwick, said "School bass are in East Greenwich Cove with customers catching fish in the 20 plus inch range."

Tautog fishing is very slow. John Littlefield of Archie's Bait & Tackle East Providence said, "Customers just are not catching a lot of tautog from boats. One customer fished the General Rock North Kingstown area, Half-Way Rock between Jamestown and Middletown and then tried Ohio Ledge in the East Passage of the Bay and not even a nibble. Shore anglers at the Wharf Tavern, at American Tourister plant and at the Barrington Bridge seem to be doing better with tautog." Al Conti of Sung Harbor Marina said, "The water is still very cold. It was 46 degrees this weekend, that's still too cold for tautog and large striped bass." The water temperature in the middle of the Bay Saturday on my boat was just 50 degrees in the sun. Generally striped bass and tautog fishing generally gets rolling once the water hits 55 degrees. Another interesting thing, there were very few boats in the water for this time of year. Al Conti said, "Guys have not even been able to paint their bottoms and put their boats in the water because the weather has been so cold and rainy."

Scup season opened May 1st and anglers are starting to target them check www.dem.ri.gov for scup, saltwater and freshwater fishing regulations.

Summer flounder (or fluke) fishing is just starting with a slow start again due to cold water. Al Conti of Snug Harbor Marina said, "A few fish were caught this weekend by anglers off the southern side of Block Island." Roger Simpson of the Frances Fleet said, "Fluke fishing got underway today, Saturday and the anglers aboard managed to scratch a couple keepers and a few throwbacks in the morning. Water temps reading 46 degrees out at Block Island and they are likely a few degrees colder on the bottom. These are the coldest water temps since back in May of 2003…"

Freshwater fishing remains very strong with largemouth bass being caught in many places throughout the state. Trout fishing is particularly at lakes and ponds that have been stocked by DEM (visit www.dem.ri.gov for a complete listing).

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing for over 40 years. He holds a captain's master license, a charter fishing license, and is a member of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council and the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association. Visit Captain Dave's No Fluke Fishing website at www.noflukefishing.com, or e-mail him fishing news and photos at dmontifish@verizon.net.