650-RICR-20-00-1. Red Book (version Periodic Refile, 10/09/2003 to 09/05/2013)

Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program Original Edition Page 1 Section 200.4 Section 200.4 Type 4 Multipurpose Waters A. Definition This category includes (1) large expanses of open water in Narragansett Bay and the Sounds which support a variety of commercial and recreational activities while maintaining good value as a fish and wildlife habitat; and (2) open waters adjacent to shorelines that could support water-dependent commercial, industrial, and/or high-intensity recreational activities. B. Findings 1. The open waters of Narragansett Bay and the Sounds are used for a number of purposes including commercial and sport fishing, boating, commercial shipping, aquaculture, and scientific research. These areas are highly productive of fish and shellfish, and support substantial commercial fisheries including a small dragger fishery, seasonal lobstering, and shellfishing. The overwhelming majority of activity is in shellfishing, particularly quahogging. The quahog fishery has grown steadily over the past decade, and in 1980 the reported landings of quahog meats peaked at an all-time high of 3.5 million pounds, worth over $11 million. It is generally accepted that the reported catch is substantially less than the actual. In 1980, Rhode Island supplied more than one-quarter of the nation's total harvest, and the fishery provided full-time employment to some 1,300 fishermen and part-time employment to an additional 2,300. The boundaries of principal grounds for the quahog trawler and lobster fisheries are shown in a general manner on maps in "An Aquaculture Management Plan for Rhode Island Coastal Waters," prepared in 1981 by W.J. Lapin of the Department of Environmental Management. A significant portion of the Bay's quahog beds is in upper Bay areas permanently closed to shellfishing, and many of the currently most productive grounds are closed for much of the year. Water pollution is thus a major threat to the Bay's shellfisheries. 2. In the early years of this century, the Bay supported a lucrative oyster culture industry. In 1910, some 20,000 acres of Bay bottom were leased to private growers. Conflicts between oyster growers and commercial shellfishermen were intense. The oyster industry began a rapid decline in the 1930s and ended in 1957. In the late 1970s, a new form of aquaculture using intensive off-bottom culture methods was proposed for several locations. By mid-1982 three leases had been granted by the Council in the Bay and in the coastal ponds. Commercial fishermen oppose the re-establishment of aquaculture in the Bay fearing encroachment on their grounds and impacts on shellfish prices. Aquaculturists argue that their intensive methods need not compete with traditional fisheries for prime grounds and that aquaculture could provide the state with a new industry, providing jobs and revenues from a renewable native resource. Aquaculturists use floating structures such as rafts or lines suspended form buoys or may conduct their activities on the bottom. Most aquacultural activities involve fixed and relatively permanent structures. While the species potentially suitable for aquaculture are almost unlimited, the species of current interest for Narragansett Bay are mussels, oysters, and quahogs. 3. Boaters and sport fishermen are another major user group of Type 4 waters. The majority of the state's estimated 33,000 (1979) recreational boats are used on the Bay. Sport fishermen take large numbers of flounder, bluefish, and striped bass each year. The scenic qualities of the Bay, good water quality, and control over preemptive uses are essential to all recreational users. 4. A major concern to all users of Type 4 waters is good water quality. The major source of all principal pollutants to the Bay, including pathogenic bacteria, nutrients, petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, and exotic organic chemicals, are the urban and industrial centers that discharge into the Providence River. Strong down Bay gradients are seen in both the sediments and water column for all these pollutants. The long-term combined impacts of pollutants on the Bay ecosystem are not well understood. There is evidence, however, that pollutants that enter the Providence River may be impacting the Bay as far south as Hope Island. The major sources of pollutants to the Bay are the rivers that drain some 2,000 square miles in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the effluents from sewage treatment plants, and urban runoff. C. Polices 1. The Council's goal is to maintain a balance Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program Original Edition Page 2 Section 200.4 among the diverse activities that must coexist in Type 4 waters. The changing characteristics of traditional activities and the development of new water-dependent uses shall, where possible, be accommodated in keeping with the principle that the Council shall work to preserve and restore ecological systems. 2. The Council recognizes that large portions of Type 4 waters include important fishing grounds and fishery habitats, and shall protect such areas from alterations and activities that threaten the vitality of Rhode Island fisheries. 3. Aquaculture leases shall be considered if the Council is satisfied there will be no significant adverse impacts on the traditional fishery. 4. The Council shall work to promote the maintenance of good water quality within the Bay. While recognizing that stresses on water quality will always be present in urban areas such as the Providence River, the Council shall work to promote a diversification of activities within the upper Bay region through the water quality improvement process.