Saving Seafood

  • Home
  • News
    • Alerts
    • Conservation & Environment
    • Council Actions
    • Economic Impact
    • Enforcement
    • International & Trade
    • Law
    • Management & Regulation
    • Regulations
    • Nutrition
    • Opinion
    • Other News
    • Safety
    • Science
    • State and Local
  • News by Region
    • New England
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • South Atlantic
    • Gulf of Mexico
    • Pacific
    • North Pacific
    • Western Pacific
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Links
    • Fishing Terms Glossary
  • Join Us
    • Individuals
    • Businesses & Organizations

Rhode Island: Fishermen: Bay cleanup might be doing harm

December 7, 2017 — NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — Narragansett Bay is cleaner and clearer than it’s been in decades.

But after huge strides in treating wastewater and controlling storm runoff, some are asking a question that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago about what is arguably Rhode Island’s most valuable natural resource:

Is the Bay too clean?

Fishermen are raising the issue after seeing steep declines in numbers of flounder, lobster and other species that were once so abundant that they formed the bedrock of their industry.

It has gotten bad enough that lobsterman Al Eagles says that he and others now call the Bay “Chernobyl,” a reference to the site of the devastating Soviet-era nuclear disaster.

“We have to ask ourselves, ’What is taking place in the Bay that has changed it from a resilient bay to a dead bay?” Eagles, who has fished for 45 years, said Wednesday at an annual marine affairs forum held at the University of Rhode Island.

Lanny Dellinger, board member of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association, put the blame on a tightening of restrictions on wastewater treatment plants after the historic Greenwich Bay fish kill in 2003 that over the past 10 years or so has cut in half the amount of nutrients that flows into the Bay.

“It seemed to be happening in sequence with the timing of nitrogen reductions,” Dellinger said, pointing out that such nutrients are key to the growth of phytoplankton, a critical food source for marine life. “I used to see unbelievable amounts of life, but I started to see that change in the mid-2000s.”

The men spoke at the 16th annual Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography in Narragansett, an event aimed at fostering discussion and developing research projects. Bruce Corliss, dean of the school, said he chose to focus on questions about the Bay’s health after a conversation with Eagles.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

 

Recent Headlines

  • House Committee on Natural Resources: Nightmares of NEPA
  • Scientists: Record abundance of underwater grasses shows Chesapeake Bay initiatives are working
  • URI Leads Effort To Reform Commercial Fisheries in the Philippines
  • Rhode Island Fishing Industry Releases ‘Blueprint for Resilience’
  • Offshore wind farms concern fisherpeople
  • Baby eel fishermen on track to catch quota after short years
  • NEFMC Discusses Offshore Wind, Clam Dredge FW, Skates, Groundfish, Herring, IFM, and More at Mid-April Meeting
  • Miami seeks to retain National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Most Popular Topics

Alaska ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Barack Obama California Cape Cod Carlos Rafael Climate change Cod Donald Trump Florida Gloucester groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Hawaii Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Magnuson-Stevens Act Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Hampshire New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Carolina North Pacific Pacific Red snapper Rhode Island Salmon Scallops Seafood South Atlantic Tuna

Daily Updates

Enter your email address to receive daily updates:

Alerts

Get our Saving Seafood Alerts for breaking news and updates.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tweets by @savingseafood

Copyright © 2018 Saving Seafood · WordPress Web Design by Jessee Productions

Help Saving Seafood tell the world that American Seafood is Sustainable Seafood

We want to ensure that the public knows the truth about U.S.-caught fish, that American Seafood is Sustainable Seafood. But to succeed, we need your support. We are asking that you join us by contributing via the link below. You’ll help us spread the word around the country that U.S. seafood is the most responsibly sourced in the world. And you’ll get a t-shirt, mug, or ballcap to help spread the message at home.

Join Here