MOREHEAD CITY – The Marine Fisheries Commission's Blue Crab Regional Stakeholder committees will meet in late November and early December to discuss regional characteristics of the blue crab fishery, the needs of fishermen in the various regions, and the best ways to control effort in these areas, in conjunction with the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan.
Blue crabs are North Carolina's most lucrative fishery; in 1998 Tar Heel fishermen harvested $40.5 million of crabs. To effectively manage this valuable public trust resource, the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan recommends that effort in the crab pot fishery needs to be controlled or reduced. Five regional committees have been created to address geographical differences in the crab pot fishery. The committees are scheduled to provide the MFC with recommendations on effort management by April, 2000.
The public is invited to attend and participate in public comment periods which will be held at the end of each meeting. The regional meetings are at the following dates and times:
Nov. 30, 1999 Region 4 - Pamlico Sound and Tributaries 6:00 p.m.
DENR Washington Regional Office
943 Washington Square Mall, Washington
Dec. 1, 1999 Region 1 -Albemarle & Currituck sounds and Tributaries 6:00 p.m.
College of the Albemarle Lecture Auditorium, Elizabeth City
Dec. 1, 1999 Region 3 - Pamlico, Bay, and Neuse rivers and Tributaries 7:00 p.m.
DENR Washington Regional Office
943 Washington Square Mall, Washington
Dec. 2, 1999 Region 2 - Outer Banks & Roanoke Island 6:00 p.m.
Board of Commissions' Meeting Room
204 Ananias Dare St., Manteo
For more information, please contact Jess Hawkins at 252-726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632.
MOREHEAD CITY - The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has announced a two-day season for the striped bass Atlantic Ocean commercial beach seine fishery beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday December 6, 1999.
Beach seine fishermen will be allowed to harvest up to 61,000 pounds of striped bass before the season closes at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8. No striped bass under 28 inches may be harvested and there will be a daily possession limit of 50 fish per crew/fishing operation.
After the season has closed, if landings statistics show that the entire harvest allocation of 61,000 pounds has not been reached, the season could be reopened for a brief period of time.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission sets harvest quotas for striped bass along the East Coast. During the upcoming season, North Carolina will divide its commercial ocean striped bass quota of 124,000 pounds between the beach seine fishery and the trawl fishery which will open in early 2000.
If a beach seine is unattended or left in the water for over a two hour period, it will be considered a gill net.
All dealers must obtain a valid 1999/2000 Atlantic Ocean Commercial Dealer's Striped Bass Permit. Dealers are also required to place an Atlantic Ocean Striped Bass Sales Tag through the gill cover on any striped bass they pack for transport, sell or offer for sale.
For more information or to obtain permits and sales tags, contact Captain Doug Sawyer, DMF Marine Patrol, at 252-796-1322 or 800- 405-7774.
MOREHEAD CITY - The Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) approved a draft Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for river herring, setting the stage for the recovery of one of North Carolina's most traditional fisheries.
Between 1890 to 1900, annual river herring production was between 15 million to 20 million pounds - 33 percent of the United States' harvest. The number of river herring harvested in North Carolina waters had fallen below 1 million pounds in 1994, prior to harvest restrictions implemented by the MFC. Even after five years of substantial harvest restrictions, river herring show no significant signs of recovery.
Because river herring stocks are near collapse, the FMP recommends commercial fishermen only harvest herring incidental to the harvest of other fish, doing away with a directed or targeted herring fishery until stocks show significant signs of improvement. The draft River Herring FMP, approved at the commission November 8, 1999, proposes the following restrictions:
Commercial
Recreational
The recommendations and restrictions set out in the FMP are not final and must be sent to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the General Assembly's Joint Legislative Study Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture for review and comment. These comments and recommendations will be incorporated into the River Herring FMP. The plan is scheduled to become effective February 2000.
Because environmental factors, such as habitat loss and water quality degradation have played a major role in the decline of river herring, the MFC passed several resolutions aimed at protecting spawning and nursery areas - areas that are critical to the successful rebuilding of the stock. The commission also passed a motion asking the General Assembly for money to study and monitor river herring and funding to assist fishermen who suffer financial hardships during the rebuilding period.
FMP's contain a great deal of information on the biology of a stock (or stocks) as well as the fishery (landings, gear, fishing grounds, processing, markets, etc.). A plan identifies problems in the fishery and proposes management measures in the form of fishing regulations that will correct the problems. North Carolina manages its fisheries based on optimum sustainable yield, which means the state only allows the maximum amount of fish to be removed that can be safely harvested, without impacting the rebuilding of that stock. The River Herring FMP was developed by a team of fishermen, scientists and fisheries managers, who explored various options for rebuilding the once prosperous fishery. For more information please contact Sara Winslow at 252- 264-3911 or 1-800-338-7805 or Jess Hawkins at 252-726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632.
MOREHEAD CITY – The first meeting of the Marine Fisheries Commission's newly appointed Blue Crab Regional Stakeholders Committees will meet November 16, 1999 at 6 p.m., at the Beaufort County Community College's Learning Resource Center, on Hwy. 64, just outside of Washington, N.C.
Blue crabs are North Carolina's most lucrative fishery; in 1998 Tar Heel fishermen harvested $40.5 million of crabs. To effectively manage this valuable public trust resource, the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan recommends that effort in the crab pot fishery needs to be controlled or reduced. Five regional committees have been created to address geographical differences in the crab pot fishery.
The stakeholder committees will provide the MFC with information on regional characteristics of the blue crab fishery, the needs of fishermen in the various regions, and the best ways to control effort in these areas. The committees are scheduled to provide the MFC with recommendations on effort management by April, 2000.
For more information, please contact Jess Hawkins at 252-726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632.
MOREHEAD CITY -- The Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a business session November 8–9, at the Ramada Inn in Wilmington. The meeting is open to the public.
For more information, contact Jess Hawkins, DMF-Morehead City, at 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.
NOTE: See Meeting Agenda Here