Category Archives: Conservation

Rocks Village ~ West Newbury Cleanup on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 8:00 am

April 4, 2017Conservation, Events, Service Eventsinternet@plumislandsurfcasters.org

Event Overview

This is a community service event available to everyone. Each year in April, Eric Roach organizes a cleanup at Ferry Park in West Newbury. It is a beautiful stretch of the Merrimack River just upstream of Rocks Bridge. This bend of the river is a natural deposit point for river-born plastic. Please join us on Sunday, April 23, 2017 from 8:00 am – 10:00 am to provide a little stewardship to this picturesque spot on the tidal Merrimack.

This spot is also known as “Rocks Village.” It is a favorite shad-fishing spot for many of our club members.

The following will be there:

Coffee and Donuts
Contractor Bags
Gloves (I have some light pairs, you might want to bring your own set of heavier gloves)

If you like, please bring your waders — the tide will be high that morning. A pocket knife can also be useful for cutting stray fishing line. The town of West Newbury will pick up the trash — there’s no need for any of us to haul it away.

You can find directions and FAQs below, but feel free to send me an e-mail at eroach1970@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Thank you for donating your time to a worthwhile cause.

Directions (Google Maps)

Frequently Asked Questions:

“How do I get there?”

Ferry Park is located just upstream of the West Newbury side of Rocks Bridge, approximately where Church Street and Bridge Street intersect. For exact directions, see the link above the map; the QR code is for the parking area on Church Street and will allow your smart phone to map exact directions from your location.

“Where can I park?”

Please see the map above for details.

“How big is the area we are cleaning up?”

The area is about 1/3 mile long x 50′ wide. See the map above for aerial photo.

“What should I bring?”

Work gloves and trash bags will be available. A pocket knife can be handy to cut rope. Most debris is near the high water mark so a pair of waders or high boots can be helpful (waders are not necessary to participate — there’s plenty of trash on dry land).

“What concerns should I be aware of while participating?”

The cars run pretty fast along Church street so please be careful and keep an eye on children near the road. Pants and long sleeves are a good idea while picking trash out of the brush as there is some poison ivy. Most of the trash along the water’s edge consists of plastic and styrofoam but there is some jagged debris — please use common sense when handling glass and metal. The banks are steep in some areas so sturdy footwear is a must.

“Are there bathrooms at the park?”

Unfortunately no; you will have to drive approximately 1 mile into town to use a business’s rest room.

“What do we do with the trash we pick up?”

We will leave our bagged trash in a couple of big piles along the roadside. The West Newbury DPW will pick it up.

“Who can I contact if I have questions?”

Please e-mail Eric Roach at eroach1970@gmail.com.

–Eric Roach

Beach Access Public Meetings

February 17, 2017Beach Access, Conservation, Events, Legislation and Regulation, Service Eventsinternet@plumislandsurfcasters.org

Newburyport City Councillor Sharif Zeid has contacted the club to alert us to upcoming public meetings on beach access at the north end of Plum Island. The City has applied for and received a grant to look at beach access and erosion on the Northern End of Plum Island.

You may be familiar with the fencing and signs that have appeared at the north end of the island recently.

Meetings are being held with residents and other interested parties to gather information and feedback on path usage and what’s important to people in that regard. As a fishing club, PISC has interest in both protecting the sand dunes from erosion and ensuring access to the beach for fishermen.

We encourage everyone to stay on the marked paths and to participate in public meetings to ensure that the fencing permits easy access to the river and oceanfront.

The meetings will be:

Town Meeting
Thursday, March 2, 2017
6:30 pm
PITA Hall
8 Plum Island Turnpike
Newburyport, MA

Map

Public Site Visit
Sunday, March 5, 2017
1:00 pm
Plum Island Northern Lot
Newburyport, MA

Map

Scholarship Program

December 11, 2016Conservation, Service Eventsinternet@plumislandsurfcasters.org

The Plum Island General Scholarship Fund

Plum Island Surfcasters offers one scholarship each year to a deserving family member of our club. Please read about the program below. The application deadline is April 30, 2017.

The purpose of this scholarship fund is to assist recipients who will consider studying in a field that involves fisheries, environmental studies or wildlife management, but is not limited to those areas. Anyone is eligible to receive this award regardless of their field of study. This scholarship will be awarded to one deserving individual annually regardless of race, gender identification or religious affiliation. The following are requirements of the application process:

1. Applicants must be a child, grandchild or great grandchild of a current, paid member of Plum Island Surfcasters.

2. Applicants must be entering a higher education institution by the following school year upon receiving scholarship.

3. Application must be received either by mail or electronically by April 30th of current year for review and approval. Scholarship will be awarded by June 30th of that year.

4. Decisions will be made by the Plum Island Surfcasters Executive Board upon review of applications. All decisions are final.

Application

CPR (Catch-Photo-Release) Fishing Tournaments

September 7, 2016Conservation, Tournamentsinternet@plumislandsurfcasters.org

Our club’s year-long tournament has rather old-fashioned rules for the “Catch & Release” division. The current form calls for having your fish witnessed by another person–rather a hindrance if you are out fishing alone and catch a fish that might win you that prize! We want to move towards “Catch, Photo, and Release.’ This strategy is used by the MSBA and other sport fishing clubs. At the September club meeting, there will be a presentation on how this works. We want to start using this submission method for the “Die-Hard” tournament this fall and use it widely for next year’s “Year Long” tournament.

The process is:

1. Catch a fish.

2. Photograph your fish.

Take a photo of the fish alongside a measuring stick or measuring tape (pulled out nice and tight). Do not drape a measuring tape over the curve of the fish from head to tail–it must be pulled tight along a flat surface underneath the fish. Here are two acceptable photographs for submission.

Metal tape measures (as shown here) lie nice and flat. They work better than paper or plastic tape measures, which can curl up. If you use a tape measure that curls, pull it out straight and taught for your picture.

Unacceptable Photographs

The tape measure on top of the fish is unacceptable. It curves and exaggerates the length of your fish.

The picture must show both ends of the tape measure alongside the fish.

Sometimes the fish just doesn’t cooperate and you have to take another picture.

Some of these photos come from the MSBA Facebook page, where the rules are explained for MSBA members.

3. Release your fish!

Send it back into the breeding stock of our beloved striped bass. (Photo of Justin Innes from On the Water.)

4. Submit your photos to the Tournaments Director

Submissions can be via email or with an online submission form (coming soon.) At the September meeting you will hear how to do this in more detail. Paper submissions will continue, but anyone with a smartphone (or tablet or computer) and an email account will be able to submit entries without the old paper affidavits. All you need is the proper digital picture of your catch and internet access.

We hope this method will make it easier for you to submit entries. Submissions done this way will speed things up and make it easier for us to keep track of entries and put up a running tally of entries and current leaders on the website. A prime objective is to have an up-to-date leaderboard on the website so that you can check where you stand in the tournament.

Many of you may like this new system for submitting entries. Anyone preferring to stick with the old paper slips can still do so. Just catch your fish and submit your entries for the tournament.

We will discuss the new process at the September meeting and finalize rules then or shortly thereafter.