Alan Howard Anderson, 79

Narragansett, R.I.

Captain Alan Anderson, husband of Daryl Anne (Schmid) Anderson, passed away on Jan. 17. He was born in Fords, New Jersey on Sept. 27, 1938. He was the son of the late Arthur and Isabelle Anderson. He captained the sportfishing charter boat, Prowler, out of Point Judith, R.I., for 47 years. Prior to that he taught biology at Westerly High School. While working on his Doctorate at the University of Rhode Island he taught anatomy and physiology for the URI Nursing Program at Jane Brown Hospital in Providence. He was an educator at heart and loved teaching.

In 1989, he became the International Game Fish Association’s (IGFA) representative for Rhode Island. He began tagging and releasing fish in the late 1960s using American Littoral Society (ALS) tags for striped bass and later added tagging Atlantic bluefin tuna for the National Marine Fisheries service program. The results of his tagging created a considerable impact in assessing the behavior and biology of these game fish.

Captain Anderson was the author of six books and numerous sport-fishing articles that appeared in regional and national publications. He established internships and endowments to facilitate scientific research and fund educational programs. After retiring from fishing in 2014, Anderson continued authoring articles and researching material for books.