MOREHEAD CITY – More commercial fishermen who sustained income or gear losses from Hurricane Floyd will be eligible for relief funds through an expanded grant program.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has announced they are extending the Hurricane Assistance Grant Program through Sept. 16, 2000 and broadening the guidelines to provide assistance to more commercial fishermen. Late last year, the General Assembly set aside $11.4 million for grants for commercial fishermen. To date, the program has distributed close to $3.3 million in aid to 470 fishermen.

According to DMF Director Pres Pate, “We set the original qualifications for the program fairly high because we estimated over 2,000 fishermen would be eligible for income loss and we had no idea how many people would apply for compensation for lost or damaged fishing gear. After reviewing the first round of applications and listening to feedback from the public, it seemed appropriate to expand the program,” said Pate.

New Changes to the Hurricane Assistance Grant Program Fishermen no longer have to show any income loss from commercial landings to qualify for compensation for gear loss. Additionally, the time frame when gear loss or damage occurred has been extended an additional month - Sept. 16 through Nov. 15, 1999.

Fishermen who lost shellfish seed stock are now eligible for aid.

Several additional fisheries were added to the “affected” fisheries list for income loss:
- Hard crabs harvested by pots in the Albemarle Sound;
- Clams harvested by hand in the Newport River;
- Mullets harvested by gillnets in all water bodies;
- Spanish mackerel harvested by gillnets in the Pamlico Sound; and
- Amberjack/Grouper/Snapper harvested by trolling in the ocean.

In order to qualify for income loss, fishermen still have to demonstrate a 25 percent total drop in September and October 1999 landings compared to the two previous years and also show a 25 percent loss in an “affected” fishery for the same time period. Compensation will cover 60 percent of hurricane-related losses. See Affected Fisheries List here.

If fishermen had losses as a result of Hurricane Floyd, and did not apply during the first round of the grant program, they are encouraged to apply beginning July 1. The deadline for receipt of applications is Sept.16, 2000.

Applications already on file with the DMF will be reevaluated – fishermen do not have to reapply for the program unless they have additional information to provide.

Applications are available from any DMF office or by calling the Hurricane Assistance Grants Office, at 252-726-0216 or 1-877-352-0216 (toll free NC only).

MOREHEAD CITY – Commercial fishermen are reminded they only have a few days before their current fishing licenses expire.

All 1999/2000 commercial fishing licenses expire at midnight on June 30, 2000. In order to legally fish beginning July 1, fishermen must have a new 2000/2001 license.

Officials with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) would also like to remind fishermen there will not be a month-long grace period for license renewals, as in previous years. That is because fishermen have had the ability to renew their licenses since May 1.

This year the DMF added an early renewal feature to their licensing program, which has greatly improved the process over past years when fishing licenses had to expire before they could be renewed. For the past two months fishermen have been renewing licenses at all of the DMF offices and through the mail.

Since early May, 7,445 license renewals have been processed, which is roughly 25 percent of the 31,090 fishing licenses the DMF sold in Fiscal Year 1999/2000.

For more information regarding commercial fishing licenses, please call 252-726-7021 or 1-888-254-2024 (toll free).

MOREHEAD CITY - A series of four public meetings will be held in June to receive comments on a draft fisheries management plan (FMP) for red drum, North Carolina’s saltwater fish.

FMPs are used to develop management options and strategies that will ensure a particular fishery is well managed and healthy. The goal of the draft Red Drum FMP is to restore the red drum stock so it produces a long-term maximum sustained harvest level. The draft FMP contains information on the species and the associated fisheries, and proposes specific harvest restrictions and recommendations on habitat and water quality. A citizen advisory committee composed of fishermen and scientists has been working with the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) since 1998 preparing the red drum plan.

The public is encouraged to provide comments on the draft FMP. The DMF especially desires input on the proposed management options addressing red drum, including attendance requirements for small mesh gill nets. The Marine Fisheries Commission will consider approving the FMP in October.

The meeting times, dates, and locations of the public meetings are:

For more information or to receive a copy of the draft Red Drum FMP, please contact Jess Hawkins, Division of Marine Fisheries at 800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021. Copies of the plan can be downloaded from the Division of Marine Fisheries website at www.ncdmf.net/download/index.html.