April 2, 2025 — The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) said climate change is bringing more squid to Rhode Island than ever before, but the rules about how much they can catch are made by out-of-state regulators.
“We have the highest amount of landings here in Rhode Island and we don’t even sit on the council that makes the rules for them,” said Jason McNamee, the deputy director of the DEM’s Bureau of Natural Resources.
He said squid used to be more of a mid-Atlantic species. Yet while the species has migrated north, the regulations are still being created by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The council includes members representing states from New York to North Carolina, but not Rhode Island.