Fishing can be a wonderful way to enjoy spending time with family and friends or just appreciating our beautiful Ocean State. But there are rules everyone must follow, and some people are tasked with enforcing those rules.
“We have about 85 present compliance. That means 15 percent of saltwater anglers we check are fishing without a license. Many of these are first-time offenders and often are not aware of our license law,” said Lt. Jeffrey Mercer of the Division of Law Enforcement for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM).
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“Often times officers will suggest that first-time offenders apply for a saltwater fishing license on the spot with their smartphone and will issue them a warning," Mercer explained. "The penalty for no license is a $10 ticket for first-time offenders ($50 for the second offence) compared to the $7 cost of a license.” However, if the offense seems intentional, offenders may be issued a ticket anyway.
“Most people are respectful," Officer Kory Bannon, of the Division of Law Enforcement, said, "but we have a few that do not like the idea of us boarding their vessel to check their catch. But, by and large, anglers we stop are polite and compliant.”
Most violations relating to catch limits (harvesting too many fish), season regulations, or harvesting fish that are below the minimum size or above a maximum size, are treated as misdemeanors in District Court. These anglers can be fined up to $500 and/or up to three months jail. Most of the violators plead guilty or nolo contendere and pay a cash fine, according to Mercer.
“Commercial fishing violations are moved to Administrative Court where they can lose their fishing license for 30, 60 or 90 days, depending on whether they are repeat offenders. Most going to Administrative Court prefer to pay a fine in lieu of losing their license.”
Another penalty option for repeat violators for both recreational and commercial fishers is the seizing of fishing gear and boats.
“This week we had a repeat striped bass offender who had no commercial license in Rhode Island, was fishing here and bringing his catch back to Massachusetts to sell the next day. This time we seized all his gear — rods, reels and tackle,” said Mercer. This was in addition to the fines that apply for striped bass violations, which are $100 per fish for first-time offenders, and $200 per fishing for second-time offenders.
Fishing crimes are serious and can take a toll on a fishery. In the case of striped bass, those large fish taken are older females that have great egg-bearing potential and go a long way to bolster spawning stock bio mass. Striped bass, which are in a rebuilding plan, contribute millions of dollars to our economy coast wide as most recreational fishing trips target striped bass.
According to NOAA, recreational fishing in Rhode Island contributes more than $412 million in economic impact annually.
License fees bolster recreational fishing
As required by Rhode Island law, each year DEM produces a RI Saltwater Recreational Fishing License Program annual report. The report provides an overview of the license program, including the number of licenses purchased and funds raised, how funds are spent, and the plans and initiatives planned for the following year.
A total of 49,787 licenses were issued in 2023. Licenses peaked in 2020, due to COVID, at 57,732 licenses.
“Rhode Islanders continue to use saltwater fishing as a wholesome outdoor activity, and we find the total number of licenses issued for the past several years hovering around 50,000,” said John Lake, supervising marine biologist for DEM responsible for managing the license program.
The purpose of the license program is to provide a source of state funding for programs and activities that benefit marine recreational fishing interests in Rhode Island. If Rhode Island did not have such a program, anglers (like all coastal state anglers) would have to register with the National Marine Fisheries Service. A Rhode Island state resident license is $7, the federal registration fee is $29.
Gross revenue from licenses for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 was $330,391. It is important to note that state funds qualify for a 3-to-1 federal government match through US Fish and Wildlife Service Sport Fish Restoration Program funds. For example, if DEM has budgeted $200,000 in spending, this 25% state of RI share would garner $600,000 in federal funds for a total RI budget of $800,000.
“Program funds have been used on such initiatives as enhanced recreational fishing data collection to improve overall precision of catch estimates. License funds allow DEM survey staff to double during peak fishing months. Additionally, funds have been used to build new boat ramps at Goddard Park, Galilee and Westerly. Funds are dedicated to outreach activities such as the youth fishing camp we do with our partner, the RI Saltwater Anglers Association,” said Lake.
Public education, information and outreach programs were supported once again this year, including the publication of the RI Saltwater Fishing Magazine and its minimum size and catch limit regulation insert.
Visit www.dem.ri.gov for license information and call DEM’s dispatch hot line to report violations at (401) 222-3070.
Where’s the bite?
Striped bass and bluefish. Jeff Sullivan, expert angler and associate at Lucky Bait & Tackle in Warren, said: “We are still catching large striped bass off Newport with large top water lures working well. The big fish are still going for these lures, usually it is the smaller bass. There is still a bass bite in the East Passage from Newport to Mt. Hope Bay, however, the bluefish bite has not been good.”
Fluke (summer flounder), black sea bass and scup . “The fluke bite is excellent off Newport with the best bite coming over transition areas where rough terrain meets sand. Our best luck has come in about 50 feet of water, but the fluke bite in the bay has not been good,” said Sullivan. Declan O’Donnell, of Breachway Bait & Tackle in Charlestown, said: “Fluke reports have been mixed with the south shore beaches having a slight edge on Block Island for numbers of keepers but Block usually producing the largest fish. The best bite is in front of East Beach and Misquamicut.”
Bluefin and yellow fin tuna. “Giant bluefin tuna were being caught close to Block Island at the East Fishing Grounds to the Dump last week with the giants pushing up sand eels to the surface with school bluefin tuna in the 40 to 60 pound rand mixed in,” Sullivan said.
Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verison.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: DEM officers say 15% of those who fish RI waters do so without proper license
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