KINGSTON, R.I. — October 19, 2001 — The University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Institute will host another in its series of public forums on fisheries management and the restructuring of the commercial fishing licensing system on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
Held in the Corless Auditorium on the URI Bay Campus, the meeting is free and open to the public. The third public meeting on the subject will be held Nov. 29.
“These meetings are a continuation of the process we began last spring that brought together a variety of parties to discuss commercial fishing licensing,” said Peter August, director of the Coastal Institute. “At this next meeting we will hear progress reports from the six subcommittees working on the many issues involved. We hope interested members of the public will attend and offer their input.”
The meetings are being held under the direction of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Fisheries Management, a nine-member group consisting of officials from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the General Assembly, and the Governor’s Office. A final report will be issued to the Working Group by January 1, 2002.
The six subcommittees that will report on their progress at the meeting are lobster management, finfish management, shellfish management, aquaculture management, recreational licensing, and license restructuring/data. According to August, the committees have been meeting since September to review and discuss licensing proposals that will provide the framework for long-term management of Rhode Island’s marine fisheries.
For additional information about the meetings or the project, call the URI Coastal Institute at 874-6513 or visit www.ci.uri.edu/projects/rifish
For Information: Peter August 874-4794, Todd McLeish 874-7892