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The Rhode Island Shortfin Mako is believed to be the fastest of all sharks in Rhode Island and can be found From Block Island to Coxes Ledge From the end of May through November. Despite being primarily an oceanic species, it is considered to be dangerous to people. Rhode Island mako sharks have also gone by the names of Blue Pointer, Mackerel Shark, Mako, Mako Shark, Snapper Shark. The Rhode Island mako shark is one of the best tasting sharks you can catch while fishing with us, it has a taste similar to swordfish and is excellent cooked on the grill.
The Shortfin Mako has a pointed snout and long, slender teeth that protrude from the mouth. The second dorsal and anal fins of the mako shark are small and the caudal fin is lunate. There is a single keel on the caudal peduncle of the mako shark. The mako shark is blue above and white below.
The Mako Shark occurs worldwide in tropical and temperate waters but is found along the Rhode Island coast around Block Island and Montauk Point, New York.
The mako shark occurs primarily in tropical waters (above 60 degrees fahrenheit), but is known from both tropical and temperate waters circumglobally. The mako shark is found in both oceanic and continental waters and is fished for along the Rhode Island coast.
Dietary items of the Rhode Island mako shark include mainly bony fishes and cephalopods. Large mako sharks over 9 feet in length are known to take larger prey such as billfishes and small cetaceans.
The Rhode Island Shortfin Mako is believed to be the fastest of all sharks found in Rhode Island. Like other Rhode Island lamnid sharks, the mako shark has a heat exchange circulatory system that enables the body to be warmer than the surrounding water and thus maintain a high level of activity. When hooked, the Block Island Shortfin Mako can make spectacular leaps out of the water and will give an angler a great long fight on the rod and reel. The Rhode Island Shortfin Mako has been known to attack sportfishing boats and injure fishermen after being hooked. Despite being primarily an oceanic species, the Rhode Island mako shark is considered to be dangerous to people. The mako shark has been implicated in both fatal and nonfatal attacks on humans but none in Watch Hill Rhode Island.
Shortfin makos are renowned for their speed and their ability to leap out of the water. In fact, there are cases when an angry mako shark will jump out of the water and into the Rhode Island fishing boat after it has been caught on the hook. Mako sharks have a better hydrodynamic shape than all other Rhode island sharks other than the salmon shark, and this, combined with the lamnidae's (shark)typical high aerobic muscle mass, reflects in the spectacular speed and agility of both the Rhode Island longfin and shortfin makos. Mako sharks have placoid scales that covers the skin to reduce friction during swimming, which makes the skin very abrasive.
Species that may be kept when sport charter boat fishing Rhode Island as long as them meet the minimum length as required by federal and Rhode Island charter boat fishing laws.
Large Coastal Sharks Rhode Island:
Blacktip Shark
Spinner Shark
Bull Shark
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Lemon Shark
Smooth Hammerhead Shark
Nurse Shark
Great Hammerhead Shark
Tiger Shark
Small Coastal Sharks of Rhode Island:
Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
Blacknose Shark
Bonnethead Shark
Finetooth Shark
Pelagic Sharks of Rhode Island:
Shortfin mako Shark
Oceanic whitetip Shark
Blue Shark
Common thresher Shark
Porbeagle Shark
Atlantic Angel shark
Basking shark
Bigeye sand tiger shark
Bigeye sixgill shark
Bigeye thresher shark
Bignose shark
Caribbean reef shark
Caribbean sharpnose shark
Dusky shark
Galapagos shark
Longfin mako shark
Narrowtooth shark
Night Sandbar shark
Sand tiger shark
Sevengill shark
Silky shark
Sixgill shark
Smalltail shark
Whale shark
White shark
But you may release any of the legal Rhode Island sharks that you catch while fishing in Rhode Island if you do not wish to keep them.
NMFS Apex Predators Program in Narragansett, RI - biology, migration, habitat, tagging
Striped bass are members of the family Percichthyidae, the temperate striped basses. Striped bass are elongated with 7-8 dark stripes extending horizontally, striped bass has a dark olive to steel blue back and silver underside with a brassy sheen. The two dorsal fins of a striped bass are separated by a gap, and two spines are present on the edge of the opercle. The caudal fin, or tail, of striped bass is clearly forked. Males reach a maximum length of 116 cm (45 in), whereas females grow to about 183 cm (72 in). Maximum weight of a striped bass is about 57 kg (125 lbs) with the Rhode Island record being over 23 kg (50 lbs). In freshwater striped bass have been hybridized the resulting fry survived, and since then, other hybrids have been produced between striped bass and other species of the genus Morone. White bass are smaller than both striped bass and its hybrid. They are light green to gray above and silvery below with no distinct lines or stripes and have a small head and arched back. Striped bass are the largest of the three. As described above, their coloration is dark, they have a large head and mouth, and the back is not arched. The hybrid looks like a combination of the two, with the characteristic back-arch of the white bass, a small head, and dark gray or blue body and stripes that are frequently broken.
Striped bass are native to the Atlantic coast, from the St. Lawrence River, Canada, to the St. John's River, Florida and are fished for and very prevelant in Rhode Island. On the Rhode Island coast, it is distributed from the Watch Hill reef, Westerly, to Block Island. Because striped bass can live in fresh water for long periods of time, they are found in the paukatuck river in Westerly Rhode Island. However, to catch trophy striped bass Fish On! charters fish Watch Hill Reef and Block Island and will also fish Montauk Point New York.
Striped bass are native to the Watch Hill Reef snd Block Island sound. Striped bass spend a considerable amount of time in near-shore waters like around watch Hill Reef and Westerly and then ascend the rivers to spawn. Striped bass in the migrate between the ocean and the Watch Hill reef and into Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound. Striped bass are found in all the best fishing spots in Rhode island like watch hill reef, watch hill point, Montauk, Catumb Passage and Block Island Southwest reef and they over-winter in the estuarine areas of these systems near the saltwater-freshwater interface like Stonnington Connecticut. Summers are spent in the cooler waters of the rips of the watch hill reef, where currents keep water temperatures lower perfect for striped bass. Striped bass are often found in deep holes in the Watch Hill Reef or around structures such as Southwest Reef off of Block Island.
Striped bass are schooling, anadromous fish; that is, they spend much of their time in salt water around Block Island but migrate to Watch Hill Reef. Striped Bass from Rhode Island and the Watch Hill are known to undertake coastwide migrations in addition to annual spawning migrations. Striped bass move north to Point Judith and Block Island during early spring and remain in Watch Hill between May and December. Striped bass inhabiting waters south of Block Island, Rhode Island, typically do not take part in coastal migrations. Recent advances in molecular genetics have allowed researchers to investigate differences in populations of striped bass.
In Rhode Island, striped bass spawning migrations typically begin in May, when water temperatures exceed 58o F, and continue through early summer, with male striped bass arriving at spawning grounds before female striped bass. Striped bass move to areas Watch Hill reef as early as April. Striped bass spawning success is often sporadic because of the limited range of environmental conditions required for eggs to hatch and larvae to grow. Sexual maturity in striped bass occurs around the fifth year at about 71 cm (28 in) in length. Eggs are pelagic, and striped bass larvae hatch in approximately 2-3 days. Striped bass larvae depend on endogenous nutrition for the first 5-10 days. Endogenous nutrition means that larvae derive nutrients and energy from the material contained in their yolk sacs. After this stage, once larvae have well-developed mouths, they begin to feed on zooplankton . Juvenile striped bass feed on a variety of worms, small crustaceans, insects, and fishes. In Watch Hill Rhode Island, fish such as herring, alewife, bunker, and shads constitute the main diet of the adult striped bass, while fishes, squid, clams, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and other invertebrates are taken by adult striped bass in open-water habitats.
This species of striped bass has historically been America's most important recreational and commercial fish. Sportfishing attracts many fishermen to Rhode Island. Historically, the commercial industry for striped bass has added millions to the state's economy, being an important income and employment opportunity in the coastal areas. Hatcheries exist throughout the East Coast. This striped bass species is also used as a indicator for fall fishing index.
In the 1950s, the striped bass population in Rhode Island exploded, causing an increase in recreational fishing, especially in Watch Hill Rhode Island. This population growth eventually caused a decrease in striped bass's feeding fish, the herring and shad, causing their populations to plummet in Rhode Island. Consequently, the striped bass population in the Block Island area also began to decline due to starvation. This "boom-bust" cycle is common to many fish species. A significant decline of striped bass throughout the East Coast began in the late 1970s. The U.S. Congress responded to this in 1979 by amending the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act to include an emergency striped bass study. In 1981, the ASMFC published an Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for Striped Bass. In 1980 the Striped Bass Study was implemented to identify possible causes of the decline of striped bass and to outline an action plan and research program to address these causes. Possible causes of striped bass decline include over-harvesting, habitat deterioration, contaminants, and industrial development. In 1984 the U.S. Congress passed the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act, requiring a federal moratorium on striped bass fishing in those states which have not adopted the recommended management measures of the ASFMC Plan or are not satisfactorily enforcing these measures.
Rhode Island Thresher Shark Alopias vulpinus
The Rhode Island thresher shark or whip tail shark is characterized by its large upper caudal fin. This tail fin may often be 50 percent of the total length of the thresher shark. The Rhode Island thresher shark has a short snout and large eyes placed forward on the head. The second dorsal fin is much smaller than the first on the thresher shark. The thresher shark is a strong swimmer and can leap clear of the water when attacking prey or when hooked by a Rhode Island charter fishing boat angler. The jaws of the thresher shark are small with small curved sharp teeth without basal cusps or serrations. Colour varies on the thresher shark from brown to black with metallic hues from above and irregular white markings on the underside. In Block Island Rhode Island waters sizes have ranged from 3 to 18 feet long including the long whip tail. The maximum size recorded for this species of Rhode Island Thresher shark is 20 feet, however they generally are between 10 to 16.5 feet in length. The Rhode Island thresher shark is one of the best tasting sharks you can catch while fishing with us, it has a taste similar to swordfish and is excellent cooked on the grill.
Diet
The Rhode Island thresher shark eats schooling fish, such as herring and mackerel and cephalopods such as squid. The large caudal fin of the thresher shark is used to slap the surface of the water forcing fish to form tighter schools; the tail can then be used as a whip to stun or kill the prey.
Reproduction
The thresher shark is ovoviviparous, with the eggs being hatched inside the female shark, and 2 to 6 live pups ( baby sharks ) being delivered at a size of 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. During development the young sharks may cannibalize their siblings within the uterine chamber.
Habitat
The Rhode Island thresher shark often swims at the surface of coastal waters along Block Island and Montauk Point, NY. However it can also occur at depths of 1,150 feet or more. The young may be found inshore in shallow water close to Watch Hill Reef, Block Island and Montauk Point, NY.
Range
The Rhode Island thresher shark is a summer visitor to the Block Island fishing region. The thresher shark have been captured from May to November, but most frequently during June through September just off the shores of Block Island and Montauk Point, NY. The thresher shark ranges through all warm and temperate areas of the worlds oceans but spends most of its time during the summer along the Block Island fishing areas. Its northernmost range in the western Atlantic is eastern Newfoundland and it ranges all the way down the Atlantic to the West Indies and northern South America, but it is very prevelant along the Rhode Island fishing grounds.
Distinguishing Characteristics