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February 28, 2003

FLOUNDER SIZE LIMIT DROPS IN THE OCEAN

MOREHEAD CITY - Good news is on the horizon for recreational fishermen who catch flounder in North Carolina's ocean waters - the size limit will drop from 15 ½ inches to 15 inches, beginning Monday, March 3. The bag limit will remain the same at eight fish per day, but there will be no closed season, as in previous years.

According to Division of Marine Fisheries Director Pres Pate, the decreased restrictions in the ocean are directly linked to the increase in size limit from 13 inches to 14 inches in the state's sounds and rivers that went into effect last September.

"By increasing the size limit in inside waters, we were able to slow the harvest rate of summer flounder so we would not exceed the 2002 harvest target set by the intrastate fishery management plan for this species," said Pate.

"Even though the 2003 harvest target is slightly less than last year (246,000 fish for 2002; 231,000 fish for 2003), we project we will stay within the limit now that the state has achieved a more balanced approach to managing summer flounder."

Flounder management in North Carolina is complex because the state is the southernmost range for summer flounder and the northernmost range for southern flounder. N.C. is the only East Coast state that has to develop management strategies for two separate and distinct flounder populations that co-exist in the same waters. The management dilemma is further complicated because both species of flounder look alike - true identification can only be made by counting the gill rakers of the fish.

Fisheries management, once viewed solely as a state function, now operates through regional, national and even international compacts. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, in conjunction with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, share oversight of summer flounder because it is a migratory stock that moves along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine and up into Canadian waters.

In the mid to late 1990's increasing minimum size limits were required to try to help rebuild overfished summer flounder stocks. Because N.C. has two major flounder species, managing summer flounder as an ocean fishery and southern flounder as an inside fishery was the most equitable solution.

Since 1999, overfished summer flounder stocks have been managed based on conservation equivalencies. This means individual states are assigned a quota or target,

and then it is up to each individual state to determine the best method to achieve their harvest goal. Daily limits, size limits, seasons and closures are all methods used to manage a fishery, and landings are closely scrutinized.

During the last few years, the state has increased the size limit and implemented closed seasons for the ocean, trying to stay within the summer flounder harvest limit. But the task grew increasingly difficult as the amount of summer flounder landed in inside waters grew and the number of saltwater anglers increased by 46 percent - 1.3 million in 1997 to 2 million in 2001.

Last September, North Carolina finally was able to slow the harvest rate of recreational summer flounder by raising the size limit for most of the states' inside waters from 13 inches to 14 inches.

The new size limit applies to all recreationally-harvested flounder taken from North Carolina's ocean waters by hook-and-line, gigs and gear used by Recreational Commercial Gear License holders. The flounder size limit for all inside waters, except the Neuse and Pamlico rivers and most of southwestern Pamlico Sound, will remain at 14 inches.

For more detailed information on summer flounder management, contact Carter Watterson at 252-726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632 or Doug Mumford at 252-946-6481 or 800-338-7804.

CHARTER BOAT LICENSE PROPOSAL TO BE DISCUSSED

MOREHEAD CITY - Should you be required to have a charter boat license to take people fishing for hire in North Carolina's coastal and ocean waters?

Public meetings will be held by the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission's regional committees to discuss the possibility of re-instituting a charter boat license. Fishermen and interested public are encouraged to attend and provide input on the issue.

The meetings are as follows:

Northeast Regional Advisory Committee
February 20 at 7 p.m.
Board of Commissioner Meeting Room
204 Ananias Dare Street
Manteo, NC

Southeast Regional Advisory Committee
February 25 at 6 p.m.
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC

Central Regional Advisory Committee
March 4 at 6 p.m.
Duke Marine Lab Auditorium - Pivers Island
Beaufort, NC

The Division of Marine Fisheries will present information on charter boat licenses in various states, background on the Tar Heel charter boat fishery, and potential uses of charter boat industry information to help resource management.

For more information, contact Jess Hawkins by e-mail at Jess.Hawkins@ncmail.net or by phone at 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.

MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION SEEKS ADVISORS

MOREHEAD CITY - The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) is looking for interested individuals to fill a vacancy on its Southeast Regional Advisory Committee.

The MFC is particularly looking for individuals with commercial fishing experience.

Advisory committees provide information and guidance to the MFC when developing fisheries regulations and discuss other important fisheries issues. The Southeast Advisory Committee advises the MFC on fisheries issues involving Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender counties.

Individuals interested in serving as an advisor should be willing to attend at least bi-monthly meetings and actively participate in the committee process. Advisors will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to official duties.

The MFC will be accepting applications for these openings until February 25, 2003. Applications are available at North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries offices or can be obtained by calling Jess Hawkins or Stephanie Bodine at 800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.

RED DRUM FISHERMAN CHARGED

MOREHEAD CITY - The North Carolina Marine Patrol has charged Robert Carol Jones, Jr., 29, of 472 Williams Store Road, in Hampstead, on Feb. 4, with selling fish without a dealer's license, selling both undersized and oversized red drum, and possessing more red drum than the legal limit.

Red drum are considered overfished in North Carolina and stringent harvest restrictions are in place to aid in the recovery of the stock. Commercial fishermen can only possess seven red drum a day (approximately 35 pounds) from a catch comprised of at least 50 percent of other species by weight, and all fish have to be between 18 inches and 27 inches.

Jones had in his possession 326 pounds of red drum - 242 pounds were undersized fish and nine pounds were over the size limit. He also did not possess a North Carolina Dealer's License, which is the license fishermen must have if they are going to sell seafood to the public.

Marine Patrol Sergeant Harold Knudson and Officers Adam Carter and Ben Jackson issued the charges. The court date is set for April 17 in Pender County Courthouse in Burgaw.

If Jones is convicted, the Marine Patrol will pursue replacement costs for the illegal red drum of $1.14 per pound.