Narragansett Bay, RI, fishes, striped bass, lobsters, marshes, wetlands acreage - Dave Grant - Sandy Hook, NJ - Brookdale College Ocean Institute at Sandy Hook, NJ. 07732htm

Narragansett Bay - Rhode Island
Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island is a transition point between the cold waters north of Cape Cod
and the warmer waters to the south. Its waters empty into Long Island Sound, one of the East Coast's largest and deepest estuaries.

Estuarine areas

	Much of the shoreline is rocky like the rest of New England, but there are also sandy beaches in some spots near the mouth of the bay where it meets Long Island Sound. Rhode Island has about 127,000 acres of wetlands and deepwater areas. Approximately 90,000 acres is wetlands. About 3,700 acres of that is tidal marsh like the fringe of Spartina grass on the left.
(Right) Lobsters (Homarus americana) are plentiful in the cool waters. This is a rare blue variant that is kept by the Rhode Island Audubon Society. (Below) Echinoderns like starfish (Asterias) are common along rocky shores and feed primarily on shellfish.
	Two species of urchins are found here. (Below, left) The purple urchin (Arbacia puntulata) grazes on algae in tidepools. The green urchin (Below) has the longest scientific name of our local sea creatures (Stronglyocentrotus droehbachiensis)

(Right) The channelled whelk (Busycon canaliculatum) is found on sandy bottoms and feeds on clams and oysters.
	(Left) Knotted sea wrack (Ascophyllum) grows on top of the red algae Irish sea moss (Chondrus crispus). Seaweeds make it slippery and treacherous to walk on the rocks here. In open water, close to shore, the striped bass (Morone saxatilis)s the top predator and the most sought after gamefish.

The blackfish (Tautoga onitis) hides among the rocks and feeds on mussels by crushing them with its powerful back teeth. It is good eating and another popular gamefish.
	(Left) Sea robins (Prionotus) are abundant on the bottom and although are edible, are considered "trash fish" by fishermen. (Below, left) The dogfish (Squalus) is abundant in the summer but is considered a "bait stealer" by most fishermen. (Below, right) The grouper is one of a number of tropical fishes that drift north on the Gulf Stream in the summer.

Upstream - freshwater areas.

The pickerel (Esox) is one of the largest freshwater fishes and a top predator. It ambushes it's prey. "...as motionless as a jewel"...and swallows..."at a gulp...a brother pickerel half as large as itself...	...and sometimes a striped snake..ends up in the same receptacle." (Thoreau)

	Away from the bay, freshwater wetlands (Swamps, rivers and ponds) are filled with bluegills and sunfish (Lepomis) and many other "pan fish" that are popular sports fishes.

Snapping turtles (Chelydra) and painted turtles (Chrysemys) are the most common reptiles in freshwater areas. Follow these links to learn more about estuaries and freshwater ecosystems.

About 18% of Rhode Island (125,259 acres) is classified as wetlands.

Freshwater-Lacustrine	Freshwater-Palustrine	Riverine	Estuarine
Lakes and ponds	Swamps, marshes, bogs, fens	Rivers, open waters	Salt marshes, shrub-scrubs swamps, and shorelines
17,528 acres	92, 535 acres	1, 839 acres	15, 827 acres