Narragansett Bay & the Sakonnet River
Every year, about 300,000 sport anglers seek finfish and shellfish in the Rhode Island's salt waters. It is a popular, rewarding pastime as well as a business.Over the past few centuries, prized species have faced severe challenges. The once-abundant populations of cod, lobster, and winter flounder have dropped significantly.
On the other hand, striped bass, summer flounder, and scup seem to be thriving. The changing composition and size of populations are cause for fishermen to be concerned.
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is not a bay, which by definition is an enclosed body of water that rises and falls with tides and is not fed by outside water sources. It is an estuary — a semi-enclosed inlet of the sea in which seawater is diluted by fresh water.
The Bay's 700 billion gallons of water cover 150 square miles.
There are three entrances to Narragansett Bay from the Atlantic Ocean: the West Passage between North Kingstown & Jamestown, under the "new" Jamestown bridge; the East Passage between Jamestown & Newport, under the Newport bridge.
The third entrance is via the so-called Sakonnet River, which is not a river, but a tidal strait. It flows approximately 14 miles between Mount Hope Bay and Rhode Island Sound.
Only the East Passage, with an average depth of 44 feet, is deep enough for large ships.
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