Marwan glad to hear you are stateside. Rhode Island is nice for diving. Conditions vary (obviously) but if you're lucky you can catch a really nice day on the mainland where you'll get 25' visibility, on Block Island you can get about 30-35' in a couple of place on a good day. As for the average visibility --> 5' is a bad day /10' is an average day/ 15' is a good day. Places to dive from shore (Fort weatherall, Jamestown) is the big spot everyone dives at although I think it's overrated. Point judith (light house & "harbour of refuge" in Narragansett) are both really nice places to dive. You'll see a lot of blackfish and Striped Bass there as well. Newport RI has a lot of nice places also (Ocean Drive is especially beautiful both on land and sea). If you have a boat then there is only one place you should head, Block Island. It's a beautiful little place and there are lots of great places to dive. Visibility is improved out there 15' being an average day 20' being a good day and 25'+ being above average days but not that rare. Best places to dive are off of the Southeast lighthouse, off of mansion/crescent beach, and off Blackrock beach.
As for fish, we've got tons but they do run seasonally. You'll see lots of blackfish and some big stripers on Block Island, in the summer you'll find trigger fish and if you go a bit offshore Mahi, Wahoo, Tuna, and Marlins are found (but you'll need a sportfishing boat to get out there). These places on Block Island are probably not going to be good winter dive spots because you have to drive 12 miles off shore to get there. Best winter dive spot is probably Fort Weatherall, followed by some places in Newport.
You'll definite see some blackfish in the winter, but it's getting late in the season for striped bass and I doubt you'll have any luck there. As for sharks we have lots of sandsharks which you'll see all the time and scare all of our prey away, we also have Great Whites, lots of Blue sharks, Threashers, and Makos --> none of which you will ever see unless you are far off shore (around 30+ miles). I did see a pearl white seaturtle this summer when diving near the North Light on Block Island, which is a rarity. If you like shellfish, you're in for a treat --> Lobsters are abundant, littleneck clams (cherrystones) very abundant also, scallops & oysters can be found but less often.
I know you're an experienced diver marwan but for anyone who isn't some of the places (especially beavertail, the southeast lighthouse on Block Island, and the Point Judith lighthouse in Narragansett) can have killer currents. Anyone who is not a strong swimmer should try and avoid these places on a rough day or a particularly strong tide. Off of beavertail last summer I went with a few friends and diving down to wait on the bottom for 45 second to a minute we found ourselves resurfacing 100-150 feet away from where we dove down. If you get tired and can't fight the current at a place like that you'll be 1000+ feet offshore before the tidal currents let you go. That's why Fort Weatherall is such a popular dive spot for beginners and scuba guys, because its very calm and protected. If you look at a map of RI you'll notice we have a very large bay which splits the state in half, with lots of islands palced throughout it. They're great divespots but you should beware of currents if you don't know it well.
For regular sport fishing, you're definitely in the right place. Lots of major gamefish (tuna, wahoo, marlin, sharks, etc... are all caught in abundance every year). A friend of mine caught an 1171lb giant tuna 3 years ago, and people catch them every summer in the 700-1000lb range (usually in later summer). In mid summer we get schools of smaller bluefin (footballs we call them) that will occasionally run close to shore. 5 years ago there were TENS OF THOUSANDS OF THEM all around point judith and Block Island. Tried to spear some but those little buggers are fast as hell and wouldn't come anywhere near me. Bonita are also common.
Well I think that's as much as I can respond to right now. Anything I didn't cover just ask. I'm in Connecticut, 2 hours south of RI, right now taking Law School exams (which means that I do nothing but study 14-16 hours a day) so getting up to RI before December 20th is impossible. But I'll be in Rhode Island from the 20th to the 4th of January. If you're in the area around then I'd be happy to show you around :fridayand take you to some of the hotspots around the state (for a small state it has a lot of charm and a very eclectic range of excellent foods).