No Fluke

Anderson knows how to play tag

Captain Dave Monti
Posted 12/23/14

Sixty thousand of anything is a lot.  Particularly game fish, all caught on a hook and line, tagged and then released.  That is the milestone Capt.  Al Anderson hit this year. …

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No Fluke

Anderson knows how to play tag

Posted

Sixty thousand of anything is a lot.  Particularly game fish, all caught on a hook and line, tagged and then released.  That is the milestone Capt.  Al Anderson hit this year.  The striped bass was 25 inches and weighed about six pounds. Capt. Anderson said, "This fish marked fifty years of tagging game fish for science."  Over the years I've tagged school and giant bluefin tuna, a variety of sharks, white and blue marlin, bluefish and striped bass."

Capt. Anderson, who recently retired from charter fishing, credits his long-term clients with offering some of their catch up for tagging.  Now he's tagging fish from his seventeen foot Boston Whaler.  

In 2012 he was inducted into the International Game Fish Association's (IGFA) Hall of Fame for his ethic of fisheries conservation through tagging.  

Nice job Capt. Anderson, we are proud to have such an acclaimed conservationist fishing here in Rhode Island all these years.

Marine mammal safety guidelines

NOAA Fisheries is developing guidelines for safely deterring marine mammals and is asking for angler input.  

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) section 101(a)(4)(A) allows for private citizens to employ measures to deter marine mammals from damaging fishing gear and catch, damaging personal or public property, or endangering personal safety, as long as these measures do not result in death or serious injury of marine mammals.  

The MMPA also directs the Secretary of Commerce, through NOAA Fisheries, to develop national guidelines on safely deterring marine mammals under NOAA's jurisdiction including whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions.   The comment period is open until January 15, 2015. Review guidelines and comment at www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0146.   

President Obama signs discharge permit exemption

Good news for commercial fishing vessels and charter boats. Last week President Obama signed into law the "Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014," exempting small fishing vessels from the EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permit requirements. The law extended the exemption provision for three years. 

Rick Bellavance, president of the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association, said, "We lobbied congress  for permanent exemptions because the permits would be required in order to legally discharge effluent, such as deck wash and fish hold water, generated during normal charter fishing operations. Vessel owners who don't obtain permits (would have been) subjected to daily noncompliance fines of up to $20,000 per day."  

The regulation was intended to prevent fuels, toxic chemicals, or hazardous waste from entering the water. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told the Alaska Journal of Commerce that requiring a permit for fishermen to hose down a boat is overkill - especially when recreational boats, including mega-yachts - are exempt from the rule.

"We want to abide by environmental regulations that make sense," Senator Murkowski told the Journal, "But I don't think any of us believe it should be a requirement for a fishermen who has had a good day out on the water, and they are cleaning up the boat, and hosing slime and maybe some fish guts off the deck and that then becomes a reportable discharge to the EPA.... Let's use some common sense here."

Catch your own bait

This Monday, December 29th, 7:00 p.m. at the West Valley Inn, West Warwick, RI the Rhode Island Saltwater Angers Association (RISAA) will present a seminar on catching your own bait.  In this seminar Michael and George Fotiades will cover the types of bait that can be found in Rhode Island, how to catch them, how to keep them alive, and tips for fishing with them.  Cast nets will also be covered in depth - how they work, how to choose one, where to use them, and how to throw one.  The seminar will be followed  RISAA's 17th annual meeting. Non-members are requested to make a $10 donation to the  RISAA Scholarship Fund.  Optional dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. served by the West Valley Inn. 

Coastal Resources Center seeks focus group participants

The Coastal Resources Center is looking for focus group participants to help them improve the quality and content of their website.  They are looking for people who both have and have not previously accessed our website. People chosen to participate in the group will receive a light breakfast, a CVS gift card and some Coastal Resources Center prizes.  For a chance to be chosen to participate in one of their focus groups visit http://tinyurl.com/CRCFocusGroupSignUp2015 . If you have questions contact Jim Blair at 724.877.0517 (or blairj4@my.uri.edu).  

Where's the bite

Cod.  This weekend angler Brian Beltrami fished the party boat the Island Current out of Snug Harbor, RI.  Brian said, "After about a 2 1/2 hour ride we arrived at a wreck South of Block Island, the island was not in sight. It was constant action on very large BSB, a few cod, and other species. When everyone had their limit of BSB we headed to the cod grounds near Coxes Ledge. Many keeper cod came over the rails. Besides the BSB and cod, pollock, silver hake, ocean Pout, cunner and ling were caught."

Cod fishing was excellent aboard the Frances Fleet last week.  Roger Simpson of the Frances Fleet said, "Every angler left with cod fish all three fishing days. A solid "average" so to speak was five to seven nice fat green market cod per angler with some anglers doing considerably better all three trips. Hi hooks were in the 10 to 12 keeper category…on Saturday there were quite a few that had their limit… We are also seeing a tremendous amount of short cod from trout size to fish that are just under legal limit which is perhaps one of the best signs seen in a very long time indicating a strong possibility of at least two or three year classes. We are also making a paramount effort to ensure each and every throwback is returned unharmed and quickly to the sea." 

Party boats sailing for cod fish at this time include the Frances Fleet at www.francesfleet.com , the Seven B's (with Capt. Andy Dangelo at the helm this week) at www.sevenbs.com, and the Island Current at www.islandcurrent.com .

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years.  He holds a captain's master license and a charter fishing license. Contact or forward fishing news and photos to Capt. Dave at dmontifish@verizon.net or visit his website at www.noflukefishing.com.

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