7 



chart of fisheries in the vicinity of the disposal site is presented in Figure 

 E-5. 



This report is based on interview data and mapping of lobster pot buoys 

 during the summer of 1978. Log book data obtained from lobstermen fishing in 

 the dump site will be used to quantify the effect of this dump site. 



Floating Trap Fishery 



Of all the resources which could be potentially affected by spoil disposal 

 at the Brenton Reef site, the trap fishery is the most difficult to fully assess 

 The major trap fisheries in Rhode Island are located off Newport and Sakonnet 

 within three to four miles of the disposal site. The major target species is 

 scup. Scup catches were very large in 1964 and 1965 and declined steadily dur- 

 ing the period that spoil was being deposited. It was suggested by fishing 

 interests that suspended sediment from eroding spoil had caused the scup to 

 change their migratory paths. 



Sissenwine and Sail a (1974) analyzed trends in the scup fishery and showed 

 how the decline in scup catches had occured from Block Island to Virginia begin- 

 ning between 1958 and 1963 in different areas. Scup fishing recovered in all 

 areas in 1975 and 1976 making it clear that the decline in Rhode Island catches 

 was part of a regional trend. 



This problem is not completely resolved however, since erosion of the sur- 

 face of the spoil pile has taken place and little is known about the effects of 

 turbid water on the behavior of schools of fish in natural environments. Pre- 

 liminary experiments by Marchesseault and Sail a (1977) indicate that scup move 

 away from areas of falling fine sand in test tanks. Wilson and Connor (1976) 

 found that even visually acute fish such as mackeral would enter and feed in 



