PROVIDENCE – R.I. Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit was awarded the John H. Chafee Boater of the Year Award by the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association at the Providence Boat Show. more

NORTH KINGSTOWN – Brandaris Maritime, a local provider of marine-related educational-enrichment programs, has partnered with St. Mary’s Home for Children on the “SeaPerch” program, which equips students to build an underwater Remote Operated Vehicle. more

Summer may be the season for sailing in Rhode Island, but winter is shaping up to be prosperous as well. Two major February announcements – that Newport will be the only United States stop on the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race and that last summer’s America Cup World Series Event brought a total of $52.7 million to the state - bring promises of continued industry success. more

Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island has announced that the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry, which the nonprofit is building as Rhode Island’s official sailing education vessel, has been granted a permanent home on the north side of a new pier being built as part of improvements at Fort Adams State Park. more

Commercial fishing license holders seeking new or renewed licenses from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management face a Feb. 28 deadline. more

The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $2.9 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management to “rehabilitate critical infrastructure” at the port of Galilee, lawmakers announced Friday. more

The choice of Rhode Island Port Services as the new terminal operator for the port of Davisville in North Kingstown has two of the biggest existing companies there, Seafreeze Ltd. and Rhody Transportation & Warehousing Inc., questioning how the agency managing port operations handled the search. more

Like their competitors in the recreational boating industry, C&C Fiberglass Components Inc. struggled through the recession. “In October 2008 my phones just stopped ringing,” owner Jose C. Daponte said. “We went from 38 employees to 12. For us it lasted almost a year.” But the Bristol company survived in better shape than most, with staffing now back up to 30. A 23-foot, in-shore racing sailboat built by C&C dubbed the J/70, won this year’s Sailing World magazine best-boat distinction. more

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Environmental Management this month issued guidelines for “the priority interests of the state” regarding the conservation and management of marine fisheries. more

Lindalee Jordan has diabetes. She has no health insurance. Still, she considers herself pretty lucky. more