If you haven’t heard the good news by now, Rhode Island passed a new law this summer clarifying exactly what the state’s constitutional right to shoreline access and recreation means.
Instead of the old system, which used a years-long average high tide measurement to determine where the public was allowed to be (which was sometimes below the actual high tide line), the new law makes it very easy for both the public and landowners to know where they can be. This is huge for fishermen, as we can now have confidence that we’re allowed to be fishing where we are, without risk of harassment, fines, or arrest.
Fishermen, and anyone else who want to use the beach, now enjoy a right of way extending 10 feet above the rack (seaweed) line. If there isn’t a seaweed line, the right of way extends 10 feet above the wet sand line from the last high tide.
Property owners have been seen raking the seaweed closer to the water in an effort to extend their private beach, but the wet sand marker can’t be changed, so it’s good to know you can use both markers.
Learn more about Rhode Island’s new law here: https://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/understanding-rhode-islands-new-shoreline-access-law/