Rhode Island Seafood Challenge: Chowder Cookoff – April 4th

The 2014 Rhode Island Seafood Challenge puts Johnson & Wales University culinary students to the test making Rhode Island-style clam chowder

Join us for the 2014 Rhode Island Seafood Challenge—a chowder cookoff at Johnson & Wales University (JWU) on Friday, April 4, from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. [Reservations required; see below.]

Three teams of JWU culinary students will prepare their own original recipes for Rhode Island-style clam chowder for a guest audience of other JWU students and the public. The audience will get to taste each of the chowders and vote for their favorite. The winning team will be featured on NBC 10’s Cooking with Class with Chef Frank Terranova.

In addition to the recipe challenge, experts will present talks on Rhode Island’s seafood industry and food safety. Speakers will include Ken Ayars, chief of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Agriculture, Chris Lee, director at Sea Fresh, a seafood processor and wholesaler in North Kingstown, R.I., and Lori Pivarnik, coordinator of the University of Rhode Island’s Food Safety Outreach/Research Program in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

“Incorporating fresh, local ingredients is a focus of the Wellness and Sustainability concentration that many of our students are studying. This competition is a way to share that with the public while challenging our students to experiment with this great locally available seafood,” said William Idell, department chair in the JWU College of Culinary Arts.

Fresh clams will be donated by Atlantic Capes Fisheries in Bristol, R.I.

This event will be held at the JWU Harborside Campus Amphitheater. Seating is limited. This event is free, but advance reservations are required by contacting Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6800 or kellibutler@etal.uri.edu.

Toxic Algae and Oyster Disease in Narragansett Bay Presentation on March 26th

Coastal State Discussion Series: Toxic Algae and Oyster Disease in Narragansett Bay

Rhode Island researchers discuss impacts of emerging algal species and marine disease that may impact the state’s seafood and water resources.

Two potential threats have emerged in Narragansett Bay waters that raise concern for both the health of Rhode Island waters and the overall state of the seafood industry.

Researchers David Borkman, marine plankton expert at the University of Rhode Island (URI) Graduate School of Oceanography, and Roxanna Smolowitz, shellfish and fish disease expert at Roger Williams University, will discuss findings of a new harmful algae species and an oyster parasite in the second event of the Coastal State Discussion Series on Wednesday, March 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the University Club on URI’s Kingston campus.

Borkman has been studying marine plankton in Narragansett Bay for several decades and has found a new species of algae in R.I. waters, the third observation of this species on the East Coast and the first in New England. He will discuss his findings and studies of this highly toxic species and what its presence may mean for the health of the Bay.

Smolowitz will discuss her work that looks at the transmission and impact of a new parasitic disease in the eastern oyster. This parasite has been linked to the death of oysters in Martha’s Vineyard, and its presence in Rhode Island shows a potential for significant infection of eastern oyster farms, impacting the state’s $2 million oyster industry.

This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited, so please contact Meredith Haas at mmhaas@mail.uri.edu to reserve a place or for more information. The University Club is located on Upper College Road on URI’s Kingston Campus.

The Coastal State series is sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant and the URI Coastal Institute with the support of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography and the URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences. This lecture is also supported by the Rhode lsland Shellfish Management Plan.

Rhode Island Sea Grant is located at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography. For more information, visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu.

Whelk Research Meeting on March 19th

A Rhode Island whelk (conch) fishery research project was recently funded by RI Sea Grant. This project is a collaborative effort between the University of Rhode Island, RIDEM, and the whelk fishing industry in RI. The research project is seeking approximately 20 whelk fishers to participate in data collection and provide local knowledge about various aspects of the whelk fishery in RI.

A meeting will be held March 19, 2014, 6:30-8:30 PM at URI Narragansett Bay Campus, Hazard Room, Coastal Institute, Narragansett RI. Please read below for agenda.

AGENDA

Whelk Research Meeting

6:30-7:00 Introductions and explanation of the Sea Grant funded project

7:00-7:45 Local Knowledge- What do we know about whelk and the fishery?

7:45-8:30 How can you help with the research?

For additional information, please contact Thomas E. Angell, RIDEM Fish and Wildlife, Marine Fisheries at 423-1931 or at thomas.angell@dem.ri.gov

DEM, NBC Announce Temporary Closure of Phase I Combined Sewer Overflow Tunnel

News Release from RI Department of Environmental Management:

Shellfish Closures to Revert to Pre-Phase I Criteria While the CSO Tunnel is Removed from Service

As a part of construction related to Phase II of the Narragansett Bay Commission’s (NBC) extremely successful federally-mandated Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Abatement Program, the NBC will temporarily cease operation of the Phase I CSO tunnel. This planned change in operation is necessary in order to complete the connection of the Phase II Woonasquatucket CSO Interceptor to the Phase I tunnel, thereby increasing the amount of combined sewage that will be diverted from the Woonasquatucket River and sent to the Field’s Point Wastewater Treatment Facility for treatment. The Phase I tunnel will be off-line for approximately three to four weeks beginning on or about March 19. In order to complete necessary Phase II construction, the tunnel will remain at approximately 60 percent capacity until September 2014.

During the time period that the tunnel is removed from service, DEM will enact shellfish closures for the Upper Narragansett Bay Shellfish Management Area using the criteria that were in effect prior to construction of the tunnel: Area A (including the portion know as “Conimicut Triangle”) will close for seven days after 0.5 inch of rainfall and Area B will close for seven days after 1.0 inch of rainfall.

During the time period when the tunnel is put back in service but with reduced capacity and the interim tunnel capacity is not exceeded, DEM will enact shellfish closures using current criteria: “Conimicut Triangle” will close for seven days at 0.5 inch of rainfall, the remainder of Conditional Area A will close after 0.8 inch of rainfall, and Conditional Area B will close after 1.5 inches of rainfall.

When the interim tunnel capacity is exceeded, DEM will enact a seven-day closure of the “Conimicut Triangle,” Conditional Area A and Conditional Area B starting on the date that the overflow(s) occur, as reported to DEM by NBC. As conditions and resources allow, DEM will conduct post-storm monitoring and use this data, along with operational information from NBC, to determine whether these areas can be opened earlier. NBC and DEM will work together to conduct post-storm sampling. Weather patterns, staff availability and the effectiveness of NBC’s combined sewage treatment will determine when the post-storm monitoring will be conducted.

Based on the last five years of data it is anticipated that that interim tunnel capacity will be exceeded approximately three to five times. The actual number of days these areas are open to shellfish harvesting will depend on the specific characteristics of actual weather patterns.

Construction of the Phase II CSO improvements are nearing completion, and per a consent agreement with DEM, construction must be completed by December 31, 2014. Phase II consists primarily of connecting additional CSOs to the tunnel for treatment at the Fields Point facility, separation of storm water, and a constructed wet vegetated treatment system.

News release and contact information: http://www.dem.ri.gov/news/2014/pr/0312141.htm

Taking Stock: Researchers seek better estimates, understanding, of clams in Narragansett Bay

Rhode Island Sea Grant compares traditional clam stock estimates by dredging to estimates made using bull rakes

By Zoe Gentes, Rhode Island Sea Grant

Over 39 million clams were harvested from Narragansett Bay in 2012, supporting a $5.15 million commercial fishing industry. Estimates of clams in the Bay are used to set fishing limits. In Rhode Island, commercial shellfishermen use a bull rake for harvesting clams. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), however, uses a hydraulic dredge to collect clams for population estimates. Fishermen say that the dredging method of harvesting is inefficient and inaccurate, and is likely to result in unnecessary limits on the commercial fishing operations.

Dale Leavitt, an associate professor of marine sciences at Roger Williams University, is conducting a study that compares the efficiency of dredge gear to that of a bull rake. He is going out on commercial shellfishing boats that are using bull rakes alongside DEM dredges to compare results. Being able to accurately take stock of clam populations in Narragansett Bay is important for making effective management decisions concerning commercial shellfishing.

Understanding dispersal of quahogs, specifically, is of particular interest to researchers because quahogs do not move much once they settle as larvae. To better target harvesting efforts, “knowing where the quahog larvae move to is incredibly important for fishermen,” says Azure Cygler, an extension specialist from Rhode Island Sea Grant who is leading the R.I Shellfish Management Plan.

One management strategy is to create “spawning sanctuaries” by closing off areas and prohibiting fishing where large numbers of quahogs are located. However, if it isn’t known where the larvae will go, it is difficult to judge how effective the sanctuary may be in replenishing the Bay with quahog seed.

Leavitt and collaborators are using a hydrodynamic computer model called the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to make an educated guess as to where the quahog larvae may be distributed when originating from a specific area. ROMS has been developed and calibrated against years of data with Sea Grant funding by Christopher Kincaid and David Ullman, researchers at URI GSO, to create a picture of how currents, circulation, and nutrients affect water quality in the Bay.

Kincaid, Ullman, and URI students can now use ROMS simulations to predict circulation and transport within the Bay under different conditions. By simulating quahog larvae in the ROMS program, including adding a larval behavior component, researchers like Leavitt can predict how the larvae will be dispersed by currents within the Bay under certain conditions. These predictions can help shellfishermen better understand where the quahogs are ending up, and what their populations might be.

“The objective with our quahog management is to have the Bay produce enough quahogs to keep the fishing fleet economically viable,” Leavitt says. “In addition, quahogs are a part of the ecological fabric of the Narragansett Bay and therefore need to be managed in a way that keeps them as a functioning part of the ecosystem.”

As featured in NOAA Sea Grant February 28, 2014 news stories

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