DEM ASKS RECREATIONAL SALTWATER ANGLERS
TO PARTICIPATE IN ONLINE FISHING SURVEY
Results will Help Determine Future Fishing Site Upgrades
PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management has posted an online
recreational fishing survey and encourages anglers who fish in and around
Narragansett Bay to fill out the short but comprehensive questionnaire. The
survey can be found at the bottom of the front page on DEM's website,
www.dem.ri.gov.
The online survey is part of an ongoing assessment of shore-based recreational
fishing in Narragansett Bay, including Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River.
The results will help identify priority areas where the state or municipalities
could make capital improvements to enhance public recreational fishing
opportunities.
The survey and assessment are part of a broad effort, led by Governor Carcieri,
to enhance public access and recreational opportunities in and around
Narragansett Bay.
The focus of the survey is on saltwater recreational fishing conducted from the
shoreline, such as from docks, jetties, bridges, and beaches. Freshwater
fishing and recreational fishing by boat, while not included in this study, may
be the subject of future queries by DEM.
Robert Sutton, Chief of DEM's Division of Planning and Development, said, "The
survey gives recreational anglers a voice in letting state officials know what
is important to them, and where, and what improvements would make the fishing
experience better for them."
The survey will be used by Gordon R. Archibald, Inc. of Pawtucket, a consulting
firm hired by DEM, as part of its evaluation process of fishing sites throughout
the Bay area. The consultants have also been specifically asked to evaluate the
potential for a new fishing pier at the site of the old Jamestown Bridge in
North Kingstown (which will be dismantled in its entirety), as well as nearly
two dozen alternative sites for fishing access in the Bay area that have already
been identified. As part of that process, the consultant will inspect the
sites, and talk with recreational anglers who use them. Fishing sites to be
evaluated include locations in
Pawtucket, Providence, East Providence, Warren/Barrington, Bristol, Little
Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Jamestown, North Kingstown,
Warwick, and Narragansett.
The evaluations will include information about expected catches at each area,
how the locations relate to the transportation and population network (i.e. ease
of accessibility to the most people), the popularity of each area, compatibility
with surrounding land uses, and other relevant data. The evaluations will rank
each site both on how well it currently maximizes its potential, and on how the
overall recreational fishing experience might be improved at those sites.
"The goal," Sutton said, "is to decide whether it would be better to improve
fishing access at the old Jamestown Bridge area, or to make improvements at
several other locations."
The survey will remain online through most of the summer, with results compiled
and analyzed by mid-September. Site visits will take place from the beginning
of July through early October, with a final report due by the end of the year.
The report will be used as a starting point for DEM, working with local affected
communities, to develop a plan to prioritize sites for potential future improvement.
For additional information about the survey, or the assessment process, contact
James McGinn, P.E. at 222-4700 ext. 4313, or via e-mail at
james.mcginn@dem.ri.gov.
The survey can be found at
http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bpola...ng_survey.html
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