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FOR-HIRE FISHING PERMIT REMINDER
MOREHEAD CITY - Beginning July 1, vessels operating on a recreational for-hire basis in coastal waters of North Carolina, including guide boats, charterboats, headboats, and dive boats that take fish, must obtain a permit from the state Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF).
The permit is needed to obtain a current list of the state's recreational for-hire fishing fleet for survey purposes and is part of a new nation-wide initiative by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atlantic Coast Cooperative Statistics Program to improve the accuracy of the current recreational data collection program.
So far only 130 fishermen have applied for the permit out of an estimated 500 for-hire operators. Permits are free and currently available at any DMF license office along the coast. Operators of permitted vessels are required to have a United States Coast Guard Operator's License. Application packages can be mailed to for-hire operators by contacting Dee Willis at 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632.
For more information regarding the new for-hire fishing vessel permit requirements and survey, contact Doug Mumford at Doug.Mumford@ncmail.net or 800-338-7804.
RECREATIONAL HARVEST STATISTICS ENHANCED
MOREHEAD CITY - North Carolina has added a new component to its data collection program for coastal and marine fisheries, allowing managers to gauge the impact of recreational fishermen who use limited amounts of commercial gear to catch fish for their personal consumption.
Since 1999, when the Division of Marine Fisheries revamped their licensing system and the new Recreational Commercial Gear License (RCGL) was created, managers had no way to determine how much seafood was be harvested by the 9,000 RCGL holders. A grant from the Atlantic Coast Cooperative Statistics Program allowed the division to design and implement a survey program that estimates the RCGL catch.
It is estimated RCGL fishermen made 80,159 fishing trips in 2002, landing 1,016,320 pounds of seafood. Spot was the largest catch, followed by blue crab, shrimp, flounder and striped mullet. Gill nets, crab pots, and shrimp trawls were the most frequently used gears.
Surveys were conducted gathering baseline data on the social and economic characteristics of the RCGL community, as well as information on target species, waterbodies fished, seasonality of species, and fishing effort by gear type was also collected. This information will be combined with similar data on hook-and-line and commercial fishing to help develop fishery management plans.
The top-five RCGL seafoods harvested in 2002 by weight were:
Species
2002 Pounds
North Carolina has one of the premier harvest data collection programs on the East Coast and serves as a model for other states developing landing statistics systems. Having accurate statistics on the amount of seafood being removed from a population is key to successful management
Summary of NC 2002 Seafood Harvest:
Commercial
224,248 160 million
$94.6 million
Recreational
-Hook-and-Line
5.5 million
18 million
n/a
For more information, please contact Chris Wilson by e-mail at chris.Wilson@ncmail.net or by calling 252-946-6481 or 800-682-2632.
MARINE PATROL FILLS POSITIONS
MOREHEAD CITY - Three new officers have joined the ranks of the North Carolina Marine Patrol in recent weeks.
According to Colonel Joe Lynch, head of the Patrol, these officers are a welcome addition. "Like other state agencies, Marine Patrol has been affected by the budget crisis. Hiring freezes left vacancies unfilled and the existing force had to fill the void. We are delighted these officers have come aboard in what continues to be a very unique and challenging law enforcement career," said Lynch.
Officer Roy Earl Parker, 27, has been assigned to Dare County in the Avon area. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Parker holds associate degrees in both science and arts from the College of the Albemarle and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University.
Officer Brian Deanes, 22, had been assigned to the vessel Roanoke out of Oregon Inlet, which is used for ocean and sound patrols. Deanes holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University.
Officer Mitchell Stone, 33, a former police officer with Atlantic Beach, will be assigned to the Cedar Island area of Carteret County. Stone holds an Associate Degree in Applied Science from Alamance Community College.
The Marine Patrol is the law enforcement arm of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, ensuring fishermen comply with general statutes and rules developed to protect and regulate the harvest of the state's coastal and ocean fisheries.
The Marine Patrol has 50 positions along the coast and it's jurisdiction includes all coastal waters and extending to 3 miles offshore, and out to 200 miles offshore for some federally regulated species. Officers monitor 2.5 million acres of water and over 4,000 miles of coastline. Along with inspecting commercial and recreational boats, Marine Patrol officers also check seafood markets, fish dealers, restaurants, piers, beaches and vehicles carrying seafood.
For more information, please contact Col. Joe Lynch at 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632.
 Officer Parker |
 Officer Parker |
 Officer Deanes |
 Officer Deanes |
 Officer Stone |
 Officer Stone |
FISHERIES HEARINGS SCHEDULED
MOREHEAD CITY - The Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will be holding a series of four public hearings in eastern North Carolina during June.
The MFC will receive public comment on the following proposed rules at these hearings:
All hearings begin at 7 p.m.
June 19 N.C. State University Centennial Campus
Research Building IV, Room 2600
Raleigh
June 24 N.C. Aquarium at Roanoke Island
Manteo
June 26 Duke Marine Lab Auditorium
Piver's Island
Beaufort
The MFC will vote on these proposed rules during their Aug. 19-20 business meeting in Kinston.
For more information about these hearings, please contact Jess Hawkins by e-mail at Jess.Hawkins@ncmail.net or by calling 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.
June 4, 2003
SHRIMP LETTERS IN THE MAIL
MOREHEAD CITY - Vessel owners reporting commercial shrimp landings in 2002 will soon be receiving a certified letter from the Division of Marine Fisheries regarding federal disaster relief.
The letter contains a summary of the vessel's 2002 landings. Owners are asked to review the harvest information and contact the DMF immediately if there are differences in the landings total.
If a vessel owner landed shrimp in 2002, but does not receive a letter from the DMF, they need to immediately contact Don Hesselman, DMF-Morehead, at 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632 to report the discrepancy.
Earlier this year, Congress authorized a $35 million federal aid package for shrimpers impacted by excessive foreign imports along the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Funding was divided among states based on historical landings, with North Carolina's portion of the emergency relief amounting to $4.9 million.
Each state, in conjunction with their shrimping industry, was required to develop a system to distribute the funds. After several meetings with shrimpers, it was decided North Carolina would divide the funding up in the following manner:
-$4.1 million in direct compensation to vessel owners who legally landed shrimp at Tar Heel docks in 2002;
-$600,000 for a 3-year marketing campaign to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to promote North Carolina shrimp; and
-$200,000 for program administration.
Distribution to the vessel owners will be based on the amount of vessel landings in 2002; for example, if a vessel landed 1 percent of the total shrimp harvest, the owner will receive 1 percent of the $4.1 million. All landings must be documented through the DMF's Trip Ticket Program.