Tag Archives: Rhode Island
The Point Judith Fishermen’s Co-op
In late 1973, I began working at the coop when I got out of college. Between caddying, pumping gas, singing in some local bars, and substitute teaching for 23 scoots a day, what I earned at the fish docks helped keep me on top of some very thin living expenses. At that time we were in a recession economy and money was tight. Jobs were also tight so a guy took whatever job was available. Around this dock one heard the names: Westcott, Champlin, Whaley, Reposa, Adams, Jones, and Sykes. These names and many others were of the guys working the draggers to earn their living. And, these guys worked very hard for that living. These names were the bedrock of the co-op. These men were pros and knew their business. >click to read< 08:52
John Moran of Tiverton, R.I., has passed away
A native of Tiverton, John Henline Moran, 86, died on Friday, February 24, 2023. He was the son of the late Charles and Helen (Henline) Moran and the husband of Sue-Ann Constance and the late Elinore (Moloney) Moran. He attended Babson College and was a self-employed commercial fisherman, union carpenter, and millwright rigger. John’s love of the water and the environment was evident in his local civic volunteerism. John was a former chairman of the Tiverton Conservation Commission, and a member of Governor Garrahy’s original Narragansett Bay Commission. As a member, John was focused on a cleaner Narragansett Bay for commercial fishing and recreational uses. He was past president of the RI Shellfisherman’s Association and deeply involved in the founding of Save the Bay in 1970. >click to read< 11:50
Offshore Wind Supporters Angered by ‘Misleading’ Information from R.I.-Based Opposition Group
A handful of property owners in the East Bay has been publicizing a torrent of data arguing against offshore wind projects, causing alarm and anger from oceanographers, environmental regulators, and climate activists who say the group’s arguments are wrong, misleading, and tainted with negative innuendo, false linkages, and guilt by association. The small group, called Green Oceans and organized last December as a nonprofit, believes offshore wind projects are the “industrialization of the ocean” and “100% destructive,” said one member, Bill Thompson, who owns a house in Tiverton. The group includes five other members, four of whom own houses in Little Compton and one with a Boston address. Green Oceans has produced a white paper against offshore wind, presenting 31 objections:,, >click to read< 21:00
Offshore Wind: No measurable influence on climate change
Officially, offshore wind developers anticipate their projects will “have no measurable influence on climate change.” Knowing this, they offer a different rationale. In the “purpose and need” section of the draft environmental impact statement for Revolution Wind, Ørsted justifies the offshore wind project based on its ability to fulfill Rhode Island’s mandate for “renewable” energy. Meeting a political mandate differs rather significantly from combating climate change. Ørsted seems to understand this difference, but the public may not. No environmentally conscious individual wants to hear such depressing facts, including us. Despite numerous articles from pro-wind enthusiasts touting the promise of offshore wind, the carbon savings of these projects fail to justify their construction. >click to read this< 18:34
Artist and fisher chronicles life on one of the last southern New England trap fishing boats
Corey Wheeler Forrest is a third-generation fisherwoman. Her family owns the last trap-fishing business in southern New England. Forrest loves the work, and quite often is taken aback by the beauty she sees out in the open water. Several years ago, she started taking pictures of her surroundings, her family, and the tools of her trade, and posting them on Instagram. During fishing season, Forrest, along with her brother, 76 year-old father, and quite often her daughter get up early, load up their boats and head out to one of several traps in nearby waters. Photos, video, >click to read< 18:04
A Letter to the Editor: Wind farm utility causing onshore problems
New England has regional noise/vibration problems since the Block Island Wind Farm started. Indeed, one could note, regional wind turbines no longer typify “green energy.” In addition to air storage batteries being secretly installed on Beavertail in Jamestown to facilitate retention of unpredictable wind power, the regional power grid has been secretly raised to a higher power level to capture more irregular wind power for investors. However, that higher grid power has caused widespread environmental pressure, including water and sewer pipe separations, gas line issues and vibrations. Yards, floors and in-house glass vibrate. Light bulb filaments and wall clock parts have separated. >click to read< by Donna Cameron Gricus, Jamestown, R.I. 14:47
Commercial Fisherman Frederick “Fred” Warren Benson of R.I. has passed away
Frederick Benson, 80, passed away peacefully at the Scandinavian Nursing Home, Cranston, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was the husband of Susan (Schwartz) Benson. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Paul and Charlotte (Morse) Benson. He attended Brown University and then was drafted and served in the army as a military police officer in Vietnam. After returning home, he continued his college education and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Fisheries and Marine Technology. His non-conformist tendencies and entrepreneurial spirit led him to a life as a commercial fisherman and he purchased his own fishing boat, the Lucky 13, which he ran successfully for many years. He was a man that always was determined to act in a way that was consistent with his principles. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and others that sought him out for his knowledge and advice. >click to read< 08:23
Follow the Science? US Ignored Own Scientists’ Warning in Backing Atlantic Wind Farm
US government scientists warned federal regulators the South Fork offshore wind farm near the Rhode Island coast threatened the Southern New England Cod, a species so venerated in the region a wooden carving of it hangs in the Massachusetts state house. The warnings were delivered in unpublished correspondence weeks before Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management authorized the 12-turbine South Fork plan in November 2021. And they serve to underscore the potential ecological consequences and environmental tradeoff of a coming offshore wind boom along the US East Coast. President Joe Biden wants the US to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by the end of the decade. >click to read< 10:15
Rhode Island fishermen join lawsuit over federal at sea monitors
Rhode Island commercial fishermen have signed on to a federal lawsuit challenging a rule requiring boat captains to pay for federal monitors to observe catches. The fishermen, represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, have filed an amicus brief siding with fishermen from other Northeast states in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the new monitoring requirements. The lawsuit was filed last month in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, by a group of commercial fishermen who want to stop the federal government from making them pay for workers who gather data aboard fishing boats. >click to read< 12:56
N.J., N.E., to Consider Fund to Compensate Fishermen for Revenue Lost to Offshore Wind Development
New Jersey is one of nine states that will consider a plan to establish a fund that would compensate commercial fishermen for losses that could be sustained due to impending offshore wind development. The states – Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia – on Monday released a Request for Information (RFI) aimed at receiving input from impacted members of the fishing industry, offshore wind developers, corporate and financial management entities, as well as interested members of the public, to inform efforts to establish a regional fisheries compensatory mitigation fund administrator. “Mark off the area and then compensate us,” commercial fisherman Jim Lovgren, of Point Pleasant, said at a meeting on the topic five years ago,,, Photos, >click to read< 07:38
UPDATED: How an explosive device from WWII ended up in fisherman’s net in Rhode Island
Tuesday’s catch for Glenn Westcott of Narragansett dredged up a little more than his usual haul of fish and sea critters. Westcott is the captain of F/V Ocean State, the fishing vessel in his family’s possession since 1979. He was fishing Tuesday in the same waters he had been for years when his crew noticed an unusual catch. It was about four nautical miles east of Block Island. “We saw it going down the net and they were suspicious of something, so we checked everything out with photos and sure enough, it was a depth charge,” Video, >click to read< 16:54
Fishing boat catches undetonated explosive off RI – 10/27/92 >click to read<
Fishing boat catches undetonated explosive off RI
The U.S. Coast Guard said an explosive caught by a fishing vessel Wednesday morning was detonated. According to Petty Officer Ryan Noel, the F/V Ocean State hauled up the unexploded ordnance four nautical miles off the east coast of Block Island. The vessel was instructed to anchor two miles west of Point Judith, while the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal group was called in to detonate the device. All three crew members were evacuated and a one-mile safety zone was set up around the vessel for the 9 a.m. detonation. >click to read< 20:21
Commercial Fisherman Justin Harvey of Wakefield Dies at 36 in Tragic Accident
Justin Harvey, 36, of Wakefield, RI, passed away unexpectedly in a tragic accident on October 1, 2022. Born into a multi-generational tradition of commercial fishing, Justin loved being at sea and had just returned home from a six-day trip. The only thing Justin loved more in the world than fishing was his 16-month-old son Sturgeon David. His son was all he had ever wanted and Justin was looking forward to spending time together and watching him grow. Justin was born in South Kingstown, RI to Janet Harvey and Bruce Harvey. >click to read< 15:31
Local fisherman make their pitch to governor
Fishermen like Jon Williams, who call Galilee home, have depended for too long on the port’s aging docks and rusty bulkheads. Williams’ Narragansett Crab Company brings in millions of pounds of fish per year, but he’s hamstrung by a dock that dates back to 1948 and can’t be used because it’s in such poor shape. But he struck a hopeful tone Friday when Gov. Dan McKee came to his business to learn how Williams and his brethren would benefit from a multi million-dollar project to get the port ship-shape through repairs and modernization. >click to read< 08:00
NEFMC to decide next moves on scallop license allocation leasing in Gloucester Tuesday
Scallop allocation leasing, the practice of boat owners selling days and tonnage from a fishing license to other vessel owners to harvest in restricted zones, has been at the center of debate in the Port of New Bedford since the NEFMC held two scoping meetings at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on May 11 and May 25 respectively. NEFMC invited stakeholders to attend nine meetings in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, and two webinars. According to the Council, the vast majority, 78%, of the 286 commenters (several repeated, inflating the total number to 305) spoke against the proposed allocation leasing project during the scoping process. >click to read< 14:45
Regulators to vote on controversial scallop leasing plan Tuesday – After months of heated debate between scallop fleet owners, captains and crew, fisheries regulators are set to decide on a proposal to allow leasing in New England’s lucrative scallop fishery. More than 75% of the nearly 300 people who commented during the public process said they opposed leasing — most of them captains and crew out of New Bedford, >click to read<
DEM seizes 9ft tuna from Massachusetts charter they say was fishing illegally in RI waters
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management seized a 113-inch giant bluefin tuna from a Massachusetts charter boat last week and issued a criminal summons for the boat’s captain. The fish was seized after environmental police officers determined that the captain had paying clients on his vessel and didn’t have the required state commercial fishing license and permit to fish in Rhode Island state waters, the DEM said. The boat was escorted to port, where the fish was seized and sold to a licensed dealer, the DEM said. The money from the sale is being held in escrow. >click to read< 14:43
Mr. Robert Dixon of Tiverton, Rhode Island, has passed away
Mr. Robert Dixon, age 77, of Tiverton, Rhode Island, passed away on August 19, 2022. Robert was born in Fall River, MA to George and Edith Dixon of Riverside, RI. Robert was the husband of the late Mary McCarthy of Cranston, RI. Mr. Dixon graduated from East Providence High School in 1963. Robert retired from the United States Coast Guard in 1983 after serving 20 years. Mr. Dixon formed Commercial Marine Electronics to continue his passion of serving the marine industry by his expertise of the equipment and in the late 1980s became owner of Chris Electronics of New Bedford, MA. Robert’s knowledge and experience with repairing the marine electronics created a well-known reputation within the marine industry. >click to read<, 19:0z
Commercial Lobsterman Donald A. Devine of Rhode Island has passed away
Donald A. Devine, 64, a Charlestown resident for many years, passed away unexpectedly on March 7, 2022, in Florida. He was born on April 24,1957. He was the son of Lorraine (Boulanger) Devine and the late George Devine. He worked on many lobster boats in Point Judith, before becoming Captain on the F/V Prudence for over 20 years. He had many friends that he enjoyed spending time with in RI, NY, and FL. He was always called Don or Donny, as Donald was reserved for his best friend “Donald” Houle. The two words that best described him were humble and kind. >click to read< 15:16
10 years in prison for fishy scheme involving theft of $830K worth of lobster, shrimp and ribeye
Paul Diogenes used stolen bank info from Rhode Island restaurants to buy pricey delicacies which he then sold back to the eateries he had defrauded. This fishy scheme has landed a seafood scammer a 10-year term upriver. A one-time aspiring chef-turned fraudster has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for using stolen bank information from Rhode Island restaurants to buy $830,000 worth of lobster, shrimp and steaks which he then resold, sometimes to the businesses he had just ripped off, federal prosecutors said. >click to read< 13:37
Atlantic Herring: New England to get $11M in disaster relief funding
Disaster-level instability in the Atlantic herring industry has prompted the federal government to give $11 million to commercial fishermen and shore-side infrastructure in four states. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said Thursday that the herring industry in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island will get the assistance. More than $7 million is slated for Maine. Raimondo said the assistance “will help affected fisheries and communities recover from disasters and make them more resilient to future challenges.” >click to read< 15:49
NEFMC to hold first scallop leasing meeting in Gloucester
Scallopers, Gloucester will be the scene of the first of seven in-person meetings and two webinars over the next two months as the New England Fishery Management Council conducts scoping for a limited access Atlantic Sea scallop program. The meeting will take place Wednesday, April 27, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Cruiseport Gloucester, 6 Rowe Square. The Newburyport-based council “is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from 3 to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut,” with major ports Gloucester, New Bedford, and including Portland, Maine, according to its website. >click to read< 10:48
R.I. Truckers Back $46 Million Plan to Upgrade Commercial Fishing Port
The Rhode Island Trucking Association backs the governor’s request to invest $46 million to add decades to the life of a major East Coast commercial fishing hub in the Port of Galilee while improving freight movements. The port, operated by the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM), occupies 38 acres in the town of Narragansett. It has two port terminals, 240 commercial fishing boats and 40 docks and piers. Businesses that support the commercial fisheries there include seafood dealers, fish processors, fuel, ice supplies, fishing gear and truck transportation. >click to read< 13:02
R.I. innovator develops ‘ropeless’ lobster fishing technology
Traditional lobster and crab traps operate through a simple mechanism, using ropes and buoys. Vincent “Bud” Harold, president of DBV Technology LLC in North Kingstown, believes he has the solution: one of his company’s signature products, the RISER. While traditional lobster and crab traps are rigged by rope to a buoy, the Ropeless RISER uses underwater acoustics to send signals from a fishing vessel to gear on the ocean floor. This signal triggers an underwater bag on the trap to inflate with air,,, >click to read< 14:41
Newport Rhode Island’s commercial fishing industry faces challenging times
“Different? How are things different? Just look at it.” Gazing out over the water toward downtown Newport from a dock on Long Wharf, Denny Ingram, the burly captain of Blue Moon, is answering my question with a question. “Nothing’s the way it used to be. Nothing.” We’re standing on the last remaining pier dedicated to the city’s commercial fishing industry. The view is crowded with pleasure boats, mid-rise condos and high-end hotels. When Ingram started fishing nearly 40 years ago, the scene was quite different. Today, all of the businesses serving the commercial fishing industry have evaporated. You can’t even get ice locally. >click to read< 17:21
Rhode Island: Calamari Market Leader Town Dock Relaunches Retail Offering
With a 40-year commitment to overseeing its product from eco-friendly catch to delicious cuisine, The Town Dock solidified itself as a market leader in foodservice calamari. It announces an expanded and redesigned retail product line rolling out throughout winter and spring, allowing more consumers to find that same restaurant-quality product online and retail stores across the nation. A family-owned company, The Town Dock is one of the largest calamari suppliers in the United States and a key player in the international marketplace. For more product information, and where to purchase, nationwide, >click to read< 13:29
Electronic Monitoring: Hearings set for new electronic lobster boat tracking rules
An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering implementing the tracking requirements for lobster and Jonah crab boats that have federal permits. A Jan. 19 hearing will be held via webinar and in person at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The other hearings will be held virtually. Others are slated for mid-Atlantic states, Maine and Massachusetts and Rhode Island. >click to read< 16:15
Windfarm plans for Atlantic coast hit fishermen hard and threaten US food supply
Tom Williams, a lifelong fisherman whose sons now captain the family’s two boats, doesn’t scare easily—not after the storms, regulations and economic ups and downs he’s weathered. But the wind farms planned for much of the nation’s Atlantic coastline do scare him. His own extended family began fishing in Rhode Island in 1922. “What’s going to be left for my grandchildren?” he asks. “It’s a way of life, and this is the biggest threat we’ve faced.” >click to read< 21:00
My Friend’s Stage IV Cancer Diagnosis Showed His Remarkable Strength
Tom Hoxsie, captain of the fishing vessel North Star, sat cross-legged beside a woodstove in his toolshed. It was late February in coastal Rhode Island, gray inside and out,,, The last phase of his life had begun in pain and misjudgment. Tom was used to discomfort; his hands were a mass of calluses and scars; he labored in an industry of endless punctures, cuts, and strains, where the mentality is to wrap a wound in electrical tape and get back to it.,, This meant cancer crept up on a man with high tolerances for hardship and pain. He had had a chronic cough since at least early 2018, But that summer, he delayed getting a chest X-ray because, in the inshore fishing business around here, the warmer months are when a commercial fishing operation makes much of its money. “We were working,”,,, >click to read< 15:41
Rhode Island Fishermen Eligible to Apply For $255 Million in Coronavirus Relief Funds
The Rhode Island Congressional Delegation and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today announce that commercial fishing and charter/for hire businesses, qualified aquaculture operators, seafood processors, and dealers are eligible to apply for an additional $255 million in assistance funding provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The funding will support activities previously authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. >click to read< 21:37
Commercial Fisherman & Coast Guard Reserve Veteran, Harold A. Loftes, Jr., Dies
Harold A. Loftes, Jr., 78, passed away on Tuesday, August 24, 2021. He was the husband of Mary (Littlefield) Loftes and the son of the late Virginia (Bossard) Loftes and Harold Loftes, Sr. and brother to the late Bruce Loftes. Harold built and owned many boats during his 60+ years of commercial fishing, including the vessels Mary Elena, Min Terse, Amanda Lee, Kevin + Mandy, and others. Fishing was his life and passion. A graveside ceremony will be held at New Fernwood Cemetery, Rt 138, Kingston Monday, >click to read< 07:33
