storm surges ,” says DEM spokesman Michael Healey .
In addition , DEM contributed $ 450,000 toward a $ 1.25 million project by the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the channel at the back of the north bulkhead and continue to do so once a decade , as it does the rest of the Point Judith channel , making it easier for large charter and commercial fishing vessels to move in and out of the harbor .
State Port Manager Daniel Costa says the state ’ s commitment to these infrastructure improvements is key to attracting and retaining businesses like Williams ’.
“ It ’ s a benefit to our economy in providing products and jobs ,” he says . “ It ’ s our intention to make Galilee a businessfriendly place , so he can continue to invest in the Rhode Island fishery .”
Meanwhile , DEM is exploring the possibility of another commercial crab fishery much closer to home . Last year , the agency launched the state ’ s first blue crab dredge survey . Blue crab , a famous denizen of Maryland waters , have been migrating northward , along with other species , as the climate changes .
“ In general , Narragansett Bay , where there is a lot of warming , is transitioning to be something like a mid-Atlantic bay , and as part of that trend , we see species that used to be seasonal visitors are now here year-round ,” says David Bethoney , executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation . Black sea bass and blue crab , he says , are two examples .
But commercial fisheries management — quotas and other regulations — lag the appearance of a new resource , because “ a lot of science has to be done to support the ability to harvest ,” he says . Fishermen may be seeing a new-to- Narragansett Bay species such as black sea bass “ in more abundance , encountering more , and catching more , but can ’ t keep them because the rules haven ’ t changed to reflect that . When we ’ re in a time of change , there are a lot of opportunities , but we have to find the balance to survive .”
DEM has been testing its dredge equipment and survey methods , and sampling the bay from December to March to estimate population size and to determine if
32 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2023