Outdoors in RI: Saltwater Fishing Show, offshore wind info, seafood dinners, farming

New England Saltwater Fishing Show – this weekend

It’s this weekend – the biggest and best show in the Northeast. The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association is the sponsor of the Show. The 2025 show will return March 7-9, 2025 at the Rhode Island Convention center in Providence, Rhode Island. As always, the sponsorship of RISAA, the multitude of raffles and giveaways, the youth casting area and non-stop seminars bring large crowds of attendees.

Attending the show

Friday: 1 pm – 8 pm
Saturday: 9 am – 7 pm
Sunday: 10 am – 5pm

Seminars

Non-stop seminars by accomplished captains, authors and local sharpies will cover a variety of topics of interest.

Exhibitors

With 300 booths, this is the largest show of it’s kind in the north east.  Covering everything including tackle, rods, reels, lures, electronics, charter guides, boats, motors, accessories, clothes and much more. Many of our exhibitors are offering exclusive Show Specials – come prepared to save some dollars.

Green Oceans is at the 21st Annual New England Saltwater Fishing Show. Stop by Booth 907 and say hello to their team. Green Oceans mission: “we are dedicated to protecting the ocean and the life it sustains–from the largest whale to the smallest phytoplankton. A healthy ocean and marine ecosystem will sustain our planet for generations to come.” The booth will have information about what is happening with offshore wind turbines in our area.

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Southern Rhode Island Conservation District Hosts Free Monthly Community Dinners – Cooking with Seafood

The Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD) will be offering a five-session community education series called “Cooking with Seafood.” All sessions will be led by local fisherman Josiah Dodge at the Fresh Harvest Kitchen located in the plaza at 9 East Avenue in Westerly.
The cost for each session is $40.

• March 27, 5 – 7 pm: How to filet fish (includes filet knife ad glove)
• April 10, 5 – 7 pm: Preparing whole fish
• April 24, 5 – 7 pm: Cooking with skate fish
• May 8, 5 -7 pm: Preparing clams casino (includes clamming knife and glove)
• May 22, 5 – 7 pm: Cooking with littleneck clams
  
  To register for one or more sessions, visit tinyurl.com/seafoodeducation.
  For additional information, contact Josiah Dodge at [email protected].
  The Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD) promotes and achieves a healthy environment and sustainable use of natural resources for the people of Kent and Washington Counties and the State of Rhode Island, now and for the future, by coordinating partners to provide technical, educational and financial resources.

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Martha’s Vineyard – fighting back against ticks by extending hunting season

Nearly 100 Vineyarders support the state’s plans to extend hunting on-Island by an additional month, hailing an opportunity to cull deer in order to reduce the Island’s tick population. Local reporting on hunting also found that many Vineyarders think an additional month doesn’t go far enough. The state’s plan could mean only 16 hours available for working hunters, many of whom would only be able to get out on Saturdays. A popular recommendation is to open up Sundays to hunting, with a suggestion to allow Sunday hunting on private land only. The debate is on, and the local paper has launched a one-question survey to get your feedback. What do you think: should hunting be open on Sundays, on the private property of willing landowners? You can take the survey here.

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Over $1M in Grants Awarded to Support RI’s Local Food System

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing over $1M in Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grant awards to four local food businesses and organizations. These projects support the development of RI Grownproducts and will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. DEM’s RFSI Grant Program is funded through American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide grants that directly support middle of the supply chain activities in RI’s local food system.

“By helping local businesses and food producers gain access to improved infrastructure, the RFSI grants make Rhode Island’s local food system more resilient and inclusive,” said Governor Dan McKee. “The supply chain is at the heart of our local food system, and providing funding assistance for food infrastructure improvements allows Rhode Island’s vibrant food economy, food security, and supply chain resiliency to grow stronger.”

“Providing grants to local food businesses and producers is essential to DEM’s mission of fostering a more resilient, locally driven food system,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “These grants are a step forward in strenghtening Rhode Island’s food security and supply chain resilience, supporting local food infrastructure, and promoting growth across the food economy, while enhancing access to fresh, locally sourced products for consumers.” 

The grant awardees are as follows:

• Farm Fresh Rhode Island (FFRI), Providence.
• Award amount: $193,463.
• Project description: Through this project, the FFRI Food Hub will upgrade equipment, expand processing capabilities, and modernize IT systems to build resilience in the center of the supply chain and increase new market opportunities for RI and regional farmers with wholesale and institutional customers. In this scope of work, FFRI will pilot Rhody Red Sauce, a product that will incorporate locally grown food into a sauce for K-12 cafeterias. FFRI will also improve the Market Mobile Food Hub Technology system that updates and improves our overall systems for the sales, and aggregation and distribution of local food to institutions and wholesale customers. 

• Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT), Cranston.
• Award amount: $519,939.
• Project description: SCLT will develop the Cranston Food Hub, a new facility at Urban Edge Farm that will streamline and expand SCLT’s capacity to aggregate, process, store, and distribute locally sourced and culturally familiar produce grown by the small-scale farms operated by historically underserved producers based in SCLT’s land access network in the Providence Metro Area.

• Brandon Family Farm, West Kingston. 
• Award amount: $101, 670.
• Project description: Real Food RI LLC D.B.A. Brandon Family Farm will make several upgrades and additions to a farm building that will allow it to aggregate and distribute over 75 tons of RI Grown produce every year to grocery stores across RI through a collective purchasing agreement between at least eight different farms.

• The Hard-Pressed Cider Company, West Greenwich.
• Award amount: $282,844.
• Project description: The Hard-Pressed Cider Company will use RFSI grant funds to construct a new apple cider production facility on their farm. The production facility will focus on the aggregation of local RI apples to increase the ability to store, sort, wash, and process apples into apple cider, hard apple cider, and other apple food products while improving food and worker safety.

Future RFSI equipment only awards are currently under review by USDA. DEM will continue supply chain coordination initiatives that focus on business support and market development to support the impact of these RFSI awards on RI’s food system. DEM works across many fronts to benefit and strengthen RI’s green economy and to assist local farmers and fishers in growing their businesses. DEM also continues to make investments in critical infrastructure as well as provide farm incubation space to new farmers through its Urban Edge Farm and Snake Den Farm properties.

Rhode Island is home to a thriving young farmer network, with more than 1,000 farms. According to the recently published 2022 Census of Agriculture, Rhode Island has the highest percentage of beginning farmers in the country. Both the number of farms and total land in farms in RI grew from 2017 to 2022 according to the census data, demonstrating the increased support for local agriculture and food throughout the state. Supporting local agriculture benefits all Rhode Islanders, ensures our future food security, enhances our environment, and celebrates the state’s unique food cultures and landscape.

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