Please be advised that amendments to the following RI Marine Fisheries regulations have been filed, resulting from the public hearing held on February 25th and RI Marine Fisheries Council meetings held on March 26th and April 7th:
- Part 4 – Shellfish (effective 5/6/2025)
- Amendments to the Providence River Shellfish Management Area (Area “E”) harvest schedule (please see attached).
- Part 3 – Finfish (effective 5/6/2025)
- 2025 Commercial Striped Bass General Category Management:
- Single season June 10 – December 31; 100% allocation
- Closed days Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
- 2025 Commercial Menhaden Management:
- 6,000 lbs/vessel/week possession limit provided that the State’s quota has not been exhausted or if the Episodic Event Set Aside Program is enacted in the state regardless of the MMA status.
- Open on Mondays and Thursdays only.
- Available to RI residents only.
- Gear types authorized include hand haul seine, cast net, and floating gill net; maximum net size 480 X 48 feet.
- Open April 1 – April 30, May 1 – May 30, and June 1 – June 30 with a 100,000 lb maximum allowable harvest for each subperiod.
- Maintain the harvest prohibition in Providence River and Greenwich Bay.
- All commercial menhaden operations conducted in the Management Area, prior to and after the State’s quota has been reached, are subject to the provisions of ยง3.21.2 of the rule, which includes all call-in reporting requirements.
- Black Sea Bass Pots: Remove redundant language currently contained in Part 6 – General Equipment Provisions applicable to all pots; remove language no longer necessary for FMP compliance.
- 2025 Recreational Cobia Management: Adopts a possession limit of 2 fish/person/day and a 43″ minimum size.
- Regarding the proposed rule for changes to how recreational striped bass is measured, no amendments were filed.
- Regarding proposed rules for the harvest of striped bass by gill net or floating fish traps, no amendments were filed.
- Part 23 – Aggregate Program for Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass (effective 5/6/2025)
- Amend the summer/fall aggregate closure trigger for summer flounder from 85% to 70%.
- Maintain status quo for the summer/fall aggregate closure trigger for black sea bass at 85%.
- Decrease the black sea bass possession limit in the summer/fall aggregate program for the October 16 to December 31 subperiod from 7X to 6X the daily limit.
- Adopt additional vessel ineligibility provisions for non-compliance with the rule.
- Regarding proposed amendments to Part 7 – Dealers (proposed clarification to the dealer accounting rule), no amendments were filed at this time.
- Regarding proposed amendments to Part 5 – Lobster, Crabs, and Other Crustaceans, please be advised that the final rule is being reviewed by the Office of Regulatory Reform (ORR). Please stay tuned for additional listserve announcement when the rule is filed. The Director’s decision memo will be made available when this rule is filed.
Please click on the links to the rules above to view the filed rules.
Thank you.
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ProvRiverHarvestSchedule.pdf