PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management has posted an online recreational fishing survey and encourages anglers who fish in and around Narragansett Bay to fill out the short but comprehensive questionnaire. The survey can be found at the bottom of the front page on DEM's website, www.dem.ri.gov.

The online survey is part of an ongoing assessment of shore-based recreational fishing in Narragansett Bay, including Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River. The results will help identify priority areas where the state or municipalities could make capital improvements to enhance public recreational fishing opportunities.

The survey and assessment are part of a broad effort, led by Governor Carcieri, to enhance public access and recreational opportunities in and around Narragansett Bay.

The focus of the survey is on saltwater recreational fishing conducted from the shoreline, such as from docks, jetties, bridges, and beaches. Freshwater fishing and recreational fishing by boat, while not included in this study, may be the subject of future queries by DEM.

Robert Sutton, Chief of DEM's Division of Planning and Development, said, "The survey gives recreational anglers a voice in letting state officials know what is important to them, and where, and what improvements would make the fishing experience better for them."

The survey will be used by Gordon R. Archibald, Inc. of Pawtucket, a consulting firm hired by DEM, as part of its evaluation process of fishing sites throughout the Bay area. The consultants have also been specifically asked to evaluate the potential for a new fishing pier at the site of the old Jamestown Bridge in North Kingstown (which will be dismantled in its entirety), as well as nearly two dozen alternative sites for fishing access in the Bay area that have already been identified. As part of that process, the consultant will inspect the sites, and talk with recreational anglers who use them. Fishing sites to be evaluated include locations in Pawtucket, Providence, East Providence, Warren/Barrington, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Jamestown, North Kingstown, Warwick, and Narragansett.

The evaluations will include information about expected catches at each area, how the locations relate to the transportation and population network (i.e. ease of accessibility to the most people), the popularity of each area, compatibility with surrounding land uses, and other relevant data. The evaluations will rank each site both on how well it currently maximizes its potential, and on how the overall recreational fishing experience might be improved at those sites.

"The goal," Sutton said, "is to decide whether it would be better to improve fishing access at the old Jamestown Bridge area, or to make improvements at several other locations."

The survey will remain online through most of the summer, with results compiled and analyzed by mid-September. Site visits will take place from the beginning of July through early October, with a final report due by the end of the year. The report will be used as a starting point for DEM, working with local affected communities, to develop a plan to prioritize sites for potential future improvement.

For additional information about the survey, or the assessment process, contact James McGinn, P.E. at 222-4700 ext. 4313, or via e-mail at james.mcginn@dem.ri.gov.

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