At the depths we often catch fish at there is little light and little color. Fish do not see red or blue in deep water. You might say they are colorblind or nonpartisan. They just aim to survive and thrive, in clean comfortable water with plenty of food to eat so they can grow and reproduce.

Fish conservation is good for the fish, anglers, and the recreational fishing industry. The more fish in the water, the better the odds of catching one to eat or release. This is what drives the recreational fishing industry.

So, fish conservation enhances the fishery and makes the cash register ring for bait & tackle shops, charter boat operators, sporting goods stores, hotels, restaurants and tourism in general with all those folks that visit our state and region to fish.

It is up to us, conservation-minded anglers and citizens, to make government officials and political leaders know that we need to grow fish to abundance. This often means protecting habitat and spawning areas, and funding enhanced fish studies and stock assessments to make sure we know what impact warming water, shifting stocks, habitat degradation, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and other impacts are having on fish and habitat.

We need to know about impacts so we can develop fisheries that are resilient to these and other impacts.

So, as we look to the new year, we need to continue to create awareness of what we are seeing on the water. Impacts such as large animals like whales, tuna, dolphin and sharks feeding closer to shore more than ever before due to robust bait profiles (the food they like to eat) here in part due to warming water. Also, there has been an uptick in exotic warm water fish such as cobia, mahi, wahoo and this year tarpon caught in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

All this is happening as cold water fish have left our region, such as winter flounder and American lobster, and warm water fish are here in greater abundance than ever before such as scup, and black sea bass. Summer flounder is moving further north too.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the fishing law of this nation originally enacted in 1976, needs to be updated to accommodate some of these impacts and changes we are experiencing. The MSA was developed in a non-partisan way by Senators Ted Stevens, a Republican from the state of Alaska and Warren Magnuson, a Democrat from Washington state.

We need to continue this tradition of conservation not being a partisan issue and take the steps that are needed to grow fish so there are more of them in the water for us to catch and eat or release.

I am thankful for the fish this holiday season, and thankful we live in a nation that is a model globally in the way we manage our fisheries, so we have more fish in the water to catch.

Great white at least 10,000 years old

Jon Dodd, Executive Director of the Atlantic Shark Institute (ASI), said, “Remarkably, a second fossilized great white shark tooth has washed up on Narragansett Town Beach in RI. It happened earlier this summer in what was thought to be a once in a million event. However, it has happened again which is both exciting and thought provoking.”
“We’ve never been asked to assess a tooth that size from RI waters, never mind two in matter of months,” he added. “Remarkably, it was determined that the new tooth found by Carline Shields of South Kingstown was also a fossilized great white tooth.“

The assessment, made by Dr. Josh Moyer, an Affiliate Research Scientist at the Atlantic Shark Institute, confirmed the species with an age range from 10,000 years to millions of years old. The size of the shark was estimated to be 18-20 feet in length.

Where’s the bite?”

Tautog fishing and cod fishing. Call ahead to make a party boat reservation, vessels generally sail between 5 and 7 a.m. and return in the afternoon. Visit www.islandcurrent.com and www.francesfleet.com. Full day rates for vessels are generally $130 to $135 per adult and around $80 for those under 12 years old.

Freshwater fishing. For a complete list of trout stocked ponds in Massachusetts visit Mass Wildlife at Trout stocking report | Mass.gov and in Rhode Island visit www.dem.ri.gov/fishing, or call 401/789-0281 or 401/539-0019 for more information on trout stocking.

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.

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