MA Towns Get $45K To Improve Fishing Access

Pease Park boat ramp in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. It is a public access facility that provides access to Buzzards Bay. Photo courtesy of MA Fish & Game.

The Massachusetts towns of Tisbury and Fairhaven are getting more than $45,000 to improve public access for saltwater fishing.

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) recently awarded $45,485 using revenues from the sale of saltwater fishing permits, a portion of which are dedicated to improving angler opportunities and public access to Massachusetts coastal waters.

Tisbury will receive $25,000 to install solar-powered lighting and monitoring cameras at the boat landing at Lagoon Pond.

Fairhaven will receive $20,485 to enlarge trailer parking spaces at the Pease Park boat ramp in inner New Bedford Harbor. This will allow for safer parking as officials said the size of boat and trailer combinations have increased since the facility was originally built.

The Marine Recreational Fisheries Development Fund was established in 2011 when the Massachusetts legislature created the state recreational saltwater fishing permit to comply with a federal mandate to improve estimates of saltwater fishing effort and catch data.

Administered by DMF and overseen by the Marine Recreational Fisheries Development Panel, the fund supports fisheries research, management, and public access programs. Under state law, one-third of all permit fees collected are dedicated to recreational saltwater fishing infrastructure projects in Massachusetts.