Coastweeks 2008: Trawl trips offer public a taste of commercial fishing

NORTH KINGSTOWN—Most of the food fish landed in Rhode Island are caught by commercial trawlers.  If you’d like to see for yourself how it’s done, join Rhode Island Sea Grant on September 25 or 27 for a trawling trip aboard the URI Fisheries vessel Cap’n Bert and bring home a fish for supper.

David Beutel, Rhode Island Sea Grant Sustainable Fisheries Extension specialist and former commercial fisherman, is leading two trips, one each on September  25 and 27. Each trip will start at 8:30 a.m. and end around noon.  

“Rhode Island’s commercial fishermen trawl from the edges of the continental shelf all the way up into Narragansett Bay, catching flounder, black sea bass, scup, and squid,” Beutel says. Participants aboard the Cap’n Bert, which has a commercial-sized net, can expect to see those species as well as the more unusual sea robins, sponges, and small sharks. Participants will learn about the fishing industry in Rhode Island and will get to help sort the catch. Surplus fish are donated to the North Kingstown Food Pantry. 

The trips are $30 per person and moderately strenuous, so are recommended for adults and children 12 and over. Boots or sneakers are recommended (no sandals please). The trips leave from Wickford Shipyard, 125 Steamboat Ave., Wickford. Advance reservations are required by calling Tracy Kennedy at (401) 874-6800. 

The trawl trips are just one of the many events celebrating Coastweeks 2008, the annual nationwide celebration dedicated to fostering awareness, understanding, and improved management of the coast. In Rhode Island, Coastweeks is sponsored by the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council and Rhode Island Sea Grant. Visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu/Coastweeks.
 

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