NMFS Northeast Region

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PUBLIC INVITED TO MAY 15 MEETING ON NORTH CAPE
SHELLFISH RESTORATION PROGRAM

Volunteers Needed For Upcoming Restoration Projects

PROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will discuss shellfish restoration projects planned for 2003 and recognize the efforts of volunteers who participated in the North Cape shellfish restoration program in 2002 at a meeting this month in Narragansett. Opportunities for volunteers to participate in upcoming restoration projects will also be presented at the session.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 15, in the Coastal Institute Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island's Bay Campus on South Ferry Road in Narragansett from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.

The North Cape shellfish restoration program seeks to compensate for the losses associated with the environmental damages sustained when the tank barge North Cape ran aground off Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown in 1996, spilling 828,000 gallons of heating oil into Block Island Sound and Rhode Island's coastal ponds. More than 10 million surf clams and other shellfish, fish, and birds were killed as a result of the spill.

Restoration work performed in 2002 included raising shellfish seed; transplanting quahogs; surveying Point Judith Pond and seeding bay scallops in the pond. Nearly 100 volunteers helped release 640,000 scallops into Point Judith Pond and contributed more than 400 hours measuring, tagging, and releasing the scallops.

Volunteers will be needed again this year to help plant scallops in Point Judith Pond and other coastal salt ponds, and to assist in quahog and oyster restoration projects. Restoration activities planned include the purchase, grow-out and release of two million scallops in Point Judith Pond and additional South County coastal ponds; grow-out and release of four million quahog seed into closed sanctuaries and open shellfishing areas within several coastal ponds; and creation of oyster beds using one million oyster seed set on shell.

Restoration efforts are being directed by scientists and resource managers from DEM and NOAA. Both agencies, along with the U.S. Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, serve as the Trustees for the natural resources damage settlement for the North Cape spill.

Pre-registration for the meeting is suggested by contacting Karin Tammi, the North Cape restoration project coordinator, by phone at (401) 782-3290 or by email at Karin.Tammi@noaa.gov, or Lisa Cavallaro, NOAA Fisheries, at (401) 782-3281 or by email at Lisa.Cavallaro@noaa.gov to register or for additional information.

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Directions to the Coastal Insititute: The Coastal Institute is located on South Ferry Road in Narragansett, RI.

From the north: Follow 95 S to Exit 9 (Rt. 4 South). Continue on 4S-Route 1. From Route 1, take Rt. 138 East to Rt. 1A South (just before the Jamestown Bridge). Follow Rt. 1A South to South Ferry Road. Turn left on South Ferry Road and continue straight, passing the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography on the right. The Coastal Institute is located on the left.

From the south: Follow Rt. 1 to the intersection of Rt. 1 and Rt. 138 West. Turn right on Bridgetown Road and follow until Rt.1A. Continue straight on South Ferry Road.