Azure Cygler, Extensions Specialist at URI Coastal Resources Center and Rhode Island Sea Grant, provides an update on the Shellfish Management Plan's progress through the summer.

1. September 17, 2013
5:00pm – 7:00pm

2.  Updates on SMP progress
 Seminar on the current shellfish
licensing structure
 Set the stage for a follow-up
discussion on licensing –
Your view, the future, concerns
 Oct. 8th - 5-7pm,
 Large Conference Room,
Coastal Institute, URI Bay Campus

3. Dennis Nixon
Director, Rhode Island Sea Grant
URI Bay Campus
(401) 874-6800
dnixon@uri.edu

8.  Summer Events –
 125 public attendees
 Great feedback from public
 “Bucket List” for many
 50 new listserv sign-ups
 Over 1,000 unique visitors to
www.RISMP.org
 Generating advocates

10.  “All over the Papers…” –

11.  “A Day in the Life of a Quahogger:
A Profile of Jeff Grant”
 “A Quirky Business:
Profile of Oyster Grower Jim Arnoux”
 “Point of Entry: An Artist’s Perspective on
public access to waterfronts”
 “New Uses for Swimming Scallops:
Scientists investigate the commercial
potential of sea scallop viscera
 “The Quahog State”
 “A Short history of oysters in Rhode Island’s
salt ponds”
 “Cooking Local Seafood”

12. “I’ve lived in Rhode Island my whole life and always wanted to
go clamming.Thank you for making this possible!”
“I think its amazing fishermen put
clams out here so we can go digging
for a summer BBQ – I had no idea!”

13.  Lead writer: Sarah Schumann
 Email: schumannsarah@gmail.com
 Phone: (401) 297-6273

14.  12th Annual Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium
 “The Future of Shellfish in Rhode Island: Providing sustainable
seafood, economic opportunities, and ecosystem benefits ”
 November 14, 2013, Radisson Hotel,Warwick
 For more information and to register, visit:
http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/baird/2013_shellfish/index.html

15.  What is the Sea Grant
research $$ again?
 Process – review committee,
finalization, etc.
 Proposal Evaluation Criteria
 What next?
 Who made the final cut?

16.  “Developing Information and Local Capacity to
Manage the R.I.Whelk Fishery” – Kathy Castro (URI), Katie
Eagan,Tom Angell (RI DEM)
 “Quahog Larval Dispersal and Settlement in
Narragansett Bay” – Scott Rutherford (RWU), Chris Kincaid (URI), Dale
Leavitt (RWU), Jeff Mercer (DEM), David Ullman (GSO)
 “Nitrogen Cycling ProcessesAcross an Oyster
Aquaculture Chronosequence” – R.W. Fulweiler (BU)
 “A Model for Understanding Public Support for
Aquaculture & Estimating Social Carrying Capacity for
Shellfish in R.I.Waters” – Tracey Dalton (URI), Di Jin (WHOI), Rob
Thompson (URI)

17.  “Could Diseases in Blue Mussels Affect
Commercial Culture in the Northeast?”
– Roxanna Smolowitz (RWU)
 “A Geospatial Inventory and Preliminary
Valuation of Human Uses of R.I. Coastal
Ponds.” – RobThompson (URI),Tracey Dalton (URI), Jim Opaluch
(URI), John Lake (F&W), Eric Schneider (F&W)

18.  Year 1 andYear 2 schedule
 Year 1: Ch.1, 3, 5, 8
 Framing the chapters for
Year 1
 Chapter leads
 TACs
 Timeline

19. SMP Chapter to complete inYEAR 1 SMP Chapter to complete inYEAR 2
Ch.1 – Introduction Ch.2 – Ecology of Narragansett Bay and
Salt Ponds
Ch.3 – Biology of Shellfish Ch.4 – Culture and History of Shellfish
Ch.5 – Harvesting, Growing, and Restoring
Shellfish
Ch.6 – EconomicValue of Shellfish
Ch.8 – Existing Statutes, Regulations, &
Policies
Ch.7 – Natural and Human Risks
Ch.9 Management Structure
Ch.10 – Conclusions
Ch.11 - Implementation

20.  Rationale and process in choosingTAC members
 Timeline:
25 August, 2013 Final list of prospectiveTAC members
05 Sept. 2013 Prospective members contacted
16 Sept.2013 Responses from prospectiveTAC members
17 Sept.2013 Announce TACs at SMP meeting
Oct.2013 FirstTAC meeting; review outlines
Oct.-Dec. 2013 TACs draft management recommendations
Jan.2014 DRAFT management recommendations
completed forYear 1 chapters
Jan.-May 2014 Finalize year 1 chapters
Summer/Fall/Winter 2014 Implementation ofYear 1 recommendations

21.  Chapter 1 (Jen McCann)
 Grover Fugate, CRMC
 Janet Coit, RIDEM
 Michael Fine, RI DOH
 Chapter 3 (Dale Leavitt)
 Marty Chintala, EPA
 Najih Lazir, URI
 Jeff Grant, commercial harvest
 Mike Rice, URI
 Steve Brown,TNC
 Warren Prell, Brown
 Marta Gomez-Chiarri
 Sheldon Pratt, GSO
PROPOSED/ NOTYET CONFIRMED

22.  Chapter 5
(Azure, Monique, Jeff Mercer)
 Jim Arnoux, aquaculture
 Art Ganz, Salt Ponds
 Paul Kennedy, recreational
 Bryan DeAngelis,TNC
 Katie Eagan, commercial harvest
 Mike McGiveney, commercial
harvest
 Bob Rheault, aquaculture
 MA & CT state agencies
 Chapter 8 (JuliaWyman & Melissa Chalek, RWU)
 Gary Powers, RI DEM
 Brian Goldman, CRMC
 Dennis Nixon, RI SG
 Greg Schultz, AG Office
 WendyWaller
 Ben Goetsch, industry
 Trish Jedele, CLF
PROPOSED/ NOT ALL CONFIRMED

23.  Preliminary ReviewCommittee (PRC)
 Opportunity to review drafts 2 weeks before public
review
 Open to interested parties
 Overall Reviewers
 Looks over final
document, edits,
formats, etc.
 Selection in 2014

24. “Shellfish Licensing in RI: Structure & Purpose,
Status &Trends”
(Followed by audience questions and a short “American Idol” style survey)