Senator Sosnowski weighs in on pair trawling

Senate approves resolution encouraging comprehensive pair trawling regulations

Sen Sue Sosnowski with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
at a Charlestown fund-raiser

General Assembly news release

STATE HOUSE – The Senate has passed Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski’s resolution respectfully requesting the state Department of Environmental Management to develop comprehensive pair trawl regulations in Rhode Island.

The resolution’s passage comes on the heels of a Special Senate Task Force on Fisheries hearing, which dove into expert testimony on the effects of pair trawling.

The practice – implemented by dragging a large net between two fishing vessels – is considered one of the most effective ways of capturing entire schools of fish. 

Senator Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, South Kingstown, New Shoreham), who serves as chairwoman of the special task force, said lack of strict regulations for this practice is aiding in the very thing legislators and taxpayers have been agonizing about since the recession hit: a lagging economy.

“This is having some serious negative consequences for Rhode Island’s fishing industry, and everything has a domino effect,” Senator Sosnowski said. “When you’re partially surrounded by states that have banned or limited pair trawling, it invites out-of-state vessels to come in and sweep up the region’s species quota. They take those fish obtained in our waters, then land and process them in other states. It doesn’t take much to figure out how this weighs in on the financial picture in this state.”

The resolution (2012-S 2547aa), which the Senate passed in a 35 to 0 vote, brings to light the issues of long-term sustainability, safety concerns, user conflicts and potential gear damage that currently plague the industry. Several states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region have already effectively addressed issues and conflicts related to pair trawling. Reform, Senator Sosnowski said, will come with an immediate alliance between the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) and the RIDEM.

The House of Representatives also passed legislation (2012-H 7367Aaa), sponsored by Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett), to ban pair trawling in Rhode Island waters for the next year. The legislation bans pair trawling until March 1, 2013, providing time for RIDEM officials to review regulations and hold public hearings on the issue. Sen. James C. Sheehan (D-Dist. 36, North Kingstown, Narragansett has filed companion legislation (2012-S 2357) to Representative Tanzi’s bill.