 |
|||
 |
|||
| DMF Home | About DMF | Contact DMF | DMF Offices |
 | |||
Contact: Patricia Smith WORKSHOP SLATED ON STRATEGIC HABITAT AREAS MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a workshop Oct. 8 in Edenton to seek public input on areas preliminarily identified for designation as strategic habitat areas in northeastern coastal waters of the state. Those who live in communities around and/or are familiar with estuarine and ocean waters between Virginia and Oregon Inlet (including the Albemarle Sound and its tributaries), are invited to attend and discuss the identified areas, and others, that that provide exceptional fisheries habitat. The N.C. Coastal Habitat Protection Plan calls for the state to identify, designate and protect strategic habitat areas. The concept is to determine what areas of fish habitat are most important, so that different state agencies can focus non-regulatory conservation and restoration efforts on them. Information provided by the public will help with the development of final strategic habitat area nominations for the region. The division hopes to present proposed strategic habitat areas in the Albemarle Sound region to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission by the end of the year. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at Swain Auditorium in Edenton. For more information, contact Anne Deaton at (910) 796-7315 or anne.deaton@ncmail.net or the Marine Fisheries Commission Office at Contact: Patricia Smith PUBLIC HEARINGS SET FOR PROPOSED RED DRUM RULES MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold three public hearings in October on a variety of proposed rules, including several impacting the red drum and pound net fisheries. The hearings will be held: Proposed rules impacting the red drum fishery will: The proposed rules also rewrite regulations pertaining to pound net sets to better protect sea turtles and meet objectives of the N.C. Shrimp Fishery Management Plan. The proposed rules include: Other proposed rules will: Proposed rules are posted in their entirety in the North Carolina Register, Volume 23, Issue 5, pages 391- 408, posted on the Internet at http://www.oah.state.nc.us/rules/register/Volume23Issue05September22008.pdf. Public comments will be accepted through Nov. 3 and should be submitted to Catherine Blum, rulemaking coordinator with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557, phone (252) 808-8013, fax (252) 726-0254, email catherine.blum@ncmail.net. The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to vote on the rules, upon final adoption of amendments to the Red Drum plan, at its Nov. 6-7 meeting in Kill Devil Hills. The rules could become effective as early as Feb. 1. Contact: Patricia Smith MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION AGENDA SET MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Sept. 24-26 at the Clamdigger Inn in Pine Knoll Shores. The commission is scheduled to discuss a number of state fisheries issues, including user group conflicts and bycatch in gill nets used in the Southern flounder fishery. The discussion is in preparation for an upcoming revision to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. Additionally, the Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Draft Addenda II & III to the Interstate FMP for Spiny Dogfish. The inter-state fisheries commission is proposing management options for state-by-state quotas that reflect the historic regional distribution of the spiny dogfish landings. North Carolina requested the proposals because the current seasonal allocation program disadvantages North Carolina spiny dogfish fishermen. The meeting begins with a public comment period at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, followed by the public hearing on spiny dogfish at 7 p.m. The commission’s regular business meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, and at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 26. A meeting agenda is attached. For more information, contact Nancy Fish in the Marine Fisheries Commission office at 252-808-8021 or Nancy.Fish@ncmail.net. PRESS CONTACT: Tina Berger North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries September 24, 2008; 7:00 PM Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources Virginia Marine Resources Commission Maine Department of Marine Resources New Hampshire Fish and Game Both addenda propose management options that reflect the historic regional distribution of the spiny dogfish landings among the states. The Board’s action responds to the concern of some states that the current seasonal allocation program is not providing their commercial fishermen the opportunity to harvest the available quota as was intended by the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish. Currently, the interstate spiny dogfish management program allocates the annual commercial quota seasonally while Board action distributes the quota regionally within the seasonal allocation. The seasonal allocation system divides the quota into two periods, with 57.9% of the quota available for harvest from May 1 to October 31 and 42.1% available for harvest from November 1 to April 30. Through Board action, states agreed upon a regional allocation system dividing the quota between two regions, with 58% allocated to the northern states (ME – CT) and 42% allocated to the southern states (NY-NC). The 58/42 percent allocation was designed to preserve the historical distribution of landings. In recent years, however, the seasonal allocation strategy, which is influenced by dogfish migratory patterns, has resulted in overages of the northern quota share and reduced access to the resource by the southern states. Draft Addendum II proposes to eliminate the current seasonal allocation system and to formalize the regional allocation system. To ensure a fair allocation of the annual quota between regions and maintain the conservation goals of the plan, the Draft Addendum proposes that each region be accountable for its overharvest through quota reductions the following year. Under the current system, overages in one region have resulted in a reduced quota to the other region. The Board may choose to implement this Addendum for the 2008/2009 fishing season. If approved and implemented for the 2008/2009 fishing season, quota will be assigned retroactively accounting for landings from earlier in the fishing season. Draft Addendum III proposes a suite of options for the establishment of a state-by-state allocation system including quota transfer between states. Options include a minimum threshold (fixed percentage of the annual quota to be distributed to all states independent of historical landings) and percent allocations based on a variety of base years. Addendum III also includes an option for state payback of overages. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda, either through attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM on October 16, 2008 and should be forwarded to Christopher Vonderweidt, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Spiny Dogfish). For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt at (202) 289-6400.
American Eel Draft Addendum II Approved for Public Comment Washington, DC - The Commission’s American Eel Management Board has approved the release of Draft Addendum II to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Eel for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes a number of management options to facilitate an increase in the number of adult American eel (also known as silver eel) that are able to out-migrate to the ocean and spawn. Specific options include gear and size restrictions, seasonal closures, and recommendations to protect the upstream and downstream migration of American eel. Atlantic coastal states have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Draft Addendum. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow: Maine Department of Marine Resources Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control September 29, 2008; 6:00PM Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources New Hampshire Fish and Game Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation The Board initiated the Addendum due to continued concern for the American eel population. While the status of the stock is uncertain, the latest stock assessment information indicates the abundance of yellow eel (a juvenile life-stage of the American eel) has declined in the last two decades and the stock is at or near low levels. Further, relative abundance is likely to continue to decline unless mortality decreases and/or recruitment increases. As such, the primary management objective of the Draft Addendum is to facilitate escapement of silver eel on their spawning migration with the intent of halting any further declines in juvenile recruitment and eel abundance. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum, either through attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM on October 16, 2008 and should be forwarded to Kate Taylor, American Eel FMP Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: American Eel). For more information, please contact Robert Beal at (202) 289-6400 or rbeal@asmfc.org. R08-19 ************************* Contact: Patricia Smith
FISHERMEN ASKED TO STAY AHEAD OF STORMS MOREHEAD CITY – With a number of tropical storm systems brewing in the North Atlantic, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is asking fishermen to track their forecasts. In the event any of the storms is predicted to impact coastal North Carolina, fishermen should to be prepared to remove fishing gear from the water well ahead of the storm’s arrival. Crab pots and gill nets, especially, are prone to damage and displacement during storms. Additionally, vessel owners should check their safety equipment to ensure all is in working order and be prepared to remove their boats from the water or take them to safe harbor. Fishermen should monitor NOAA Weather radio for storm updates and channel 16 on their marine radios for U.S. Coast Guard emergency broadcasts.
|