[capta]

Last time I was up your way, it was mentioned that many of the lobster fishermen were using steel cable on their trap lines. If this is true, even cutters won't help, and if the pots are in a navigable channel, I would think the fishermen would be liable for damage to your vessel. One trip from Newport to Providence, though I remained within the buoyed shipping channel, there was no clear path up the bay. I understand these guys want to make a living, but they should leave others some channel through the waters they wish to fish in.
As for the weed, I'd never heard of it before your post, so I've no thoughts there.

 

[capta]

Frisco Bay was just as bad in the 60's but with more chemical waste from the farms and industry up the rivers. All the state would do was blame the yachts and let the major polluters continue pouring everything including DDT into the rivers, because that was politically and economically expedient.
Money trumps the environment, even today, with big business's ability to just buy their way out of damaging the environment.