DEM will issue a new report on saltwater fishing licenses on Monday

Public Will Have Opportunity to Comment on Report at October 7th RI Marine Fisheries Council Meeting

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Fish & Wildlife, Marine Fisheries Section has released a draft annual draft report on Rhode Island's Saltwater Recreational Fishing License program. The report provides an overview of the program covering the 2013 fiscal year and sets forth a proposed programmatic budget for the 2014 fiscal year, drawing upon projected license fee revenues through June 2014.

The report will be reviewed at the October 7th meeting of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council, which will take place at 6 p.m. in Corless Auditorium at the URI Bay Campus in Narragansett. The meeting will provide an opportunity for recreational fishermen and other members of the public to comment on the report. Following the meeting, DEM will submit the report, along with a summary of the meeting and any comments or recommendations from the Council, to the Governor and the General Assembly.

All revenue generated from the sales and issuance of RI recreational saltwater fishing licenses is deposited into a restricted-receipt account and can only be drawn upon for administering and enforcing the Rhode Island license program, managing the state's marine recreational fisheries with particular emphasis on improving state-based recreational fishery catch and effort statistics and stock assessments, and enhancing recreational fishing opportunities in the state.

Highlights of the report are as follows:

• During the 2013 fiscal year 41,325 licenses were issued, resulting in $181,512 being deposited into the restricted-receipt account.
• During the 2013 fiscal year, about $105,234 was used for the Rhode Island Marine Recreational Fishing Program.
• Of the total amount used, about $76,402 was used for personnel and equipment costs in support of the Division's finfish surveys for stock assessments and management of the Marine Recreational Fisheries Program.
• About $12,540 was used to enhance the Division's boating/fishing access site maintenance program and for engineering work on future Galilee boat ramp improvements.
• About $2,999 was used to develop and create the first annual Rhode Island Recreational Saltwater Fishing Guide magazine which promotes recreational fishing in Rhode Island and contains several informative articles and current RI regulations.
• Also during fiscal year 2013, the Division used about $12,433 for the purchase of additional Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) intercept interviews to improve the precision of MRIP estimates for Rhode Island. MRIP performs in-person intercept interviews of fishermen as well as telephone surveys to generate catch and effort estimates of saltwater recreational fishermen in Rhode Island.
• An additional $861 was used to improve and support Rhode Island Interactive (RI.gov) and local vendors with the sales and issuance of the recreational license.

The draft report is available online on DEM's website at http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/rlcrep13.pdf. Individuals who have questions about the report, or wish to submit written comments prior to the October 7 meeting may contact Kevin Smith in DEM's Marine Fisheries section at 423-1941 or via email at Kevin.Smith@dem.ri.gov.