Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Jan. 29, 2010
Phone: (252) 726-7021 or (252) 342-0642
BAY SCALLOP SEASON OPENS IN PAMLICO SOUND
MOREHEAD CITY – Due to recent sampling results, bay scallop season will open Monday in Pamlico Sound.
N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries samples in January from the Hatteras area indicated that abundance of bay scallops in the waters is high enough to allow limited harvest in Pamlico Sound only. Division Director Louis Daniel issued a proclamation Friday that opens waters north of Wainwright Island as of 7:30 a.m. Monday. The season will close at 4 p.m. April 1.
“This opening is in accordance with the state’s Bay Scallop Fishery Management Plan, which allows for bay scallop harvests when populations reach predetermined thresholds,” Daniel said.
Other waters of the state will remain closed to bay scallop harvest.
Bay scallops may be taken by hand, with hand rakes, hand tongs, dip nets and scoops from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on designated harvest days.
Commercial fishermen may harvest five bushels per person per day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week. There is a limit of 10 bushels per fishing operation, regardless of the number of fishermen on a boat.
Recreational fishermen may harvest no more than one-half bushel of scallops per person per day on Saturday and Sunday of each week. There is a limit of one bushel per vessel per day, regardless of the number of fishermen on the boat.
Recreational harvest limits cannot be combined with commercial harvest limits.
No dredging of bay scallops will be allowed.
For more information, contact division Fisheries Management Section Chief David Taylor during office hours at (252) 808-8074 or other times at (252) 633-5957.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2010
CONTACT: Kim Iverson
Public Information Officer
Toll Free 866/SAFMC-10 or 843/571-4366
kim.iverson@safmc.net
Federal Fishery Advisory Panel Seats Open to Applicants
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting applications for seats currently available on its advisory panels. Working at the grass roots level, advisory panel members provide information and guidance in the development and implementation of federal fishery management plans. The Council has 15 separate advisory panels composed of individuals who are engaged in the harvest of, or are knowledgeable and interested in the conservation and management of the fishery or group of fishes to be managed. Members include recreational and commercial fishermen, seafood dealers and processors, conservationists, scientists, and concerned citizens.
Advisory panel members are appointed by the Council and serve for a three-year period, based on the frequency of meetings. As those appointments expire, members currently serving on the AP can reapply for their positions. These seats also become open to new applicants. AP members generally meet no more than once or twice each year and are compensated for travel and per diem expenses for all meetings. Applications are now being solicited for the following positions:
Coral Advisory Panel (1) Open Seat for a Scientist, (1) Non-government Organization (NGO)/Environmental Seat
Golden Crab Advisory Panel (5) Open Seats
Habitat Advisory Panel (1) NC Recreational Seat, (1) NC Commercial Seat, (1) NC NGO/Environmental Seat, and
(1) GA NGO/Environmental Seat
Mackerel Advisory Panel (1) NC Commercial Seat, (2) SC Recreational Seats,
(1) FL Recreational Seat, and (1) FL Charter Seat
Law Enforcement Advisory Panel (2) Open Seats
Shrimp Advisory Panel (1) Open SC Seat
Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel (2) Open Seats and (1) Wreckfish Sub-panel Seat
If you are interested in serving as a member on the Council's advisory panels, please submit an application to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405. Applications can be obtained by contacting the Council office at 843/571-4366 or toll free 866/SAFMC-10. Application forms are available online at www.safmc.net. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact area Council representatives to discuss their interest in serving. Contact information for all Council members is available at www.safmc.net or through the Council office.
Advisory panel members will be selected during the next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, scheduled for March 1-5, 2010 in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Applications must be received by February 12, 2010.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, one of eight regional councils, conserves and manages fish stocks from three to 200 miles offshore of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida.
Kim Iverson
Public Information Officer
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201
N. Charleston, SC 29405
843/571-4366 or Toll free 866/SAFMC-10
www.safmc.net
Release: Immediate Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Jan. 8, 2010 Phone: (252) 726-7021
STATE SEEKS FISHERMEN FOR CULTCH PLANTING JOBS
MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for fishermen who want to participate in planting oyster shells this spring.
The division is partnering with the North Carolina Coastal Federation in a federal economic recovery grant to create jobs to assist the state with oyster rehabilitation. One component of the grant will pay fishermen to plant oyster shell for the state’s Cultch Planting Program.
The division will pay fishermen to plant 41,000 bushels of oyster shell on cultch planting sites in coastal North Carolina. The sites are located in Hyde, Carteret, Onslow and New Hanover counties.
Fishermen will be paid $2 per bushel.
The division will provide baskets loaded with oyster shell for participants to transport with their vessels.
To ensure the jobs are economically attractive to fishermen, the division may limit the number of participants and the amount of shell each participant transports daily.
Planting operations are planned from April 5 to July 31 and may take place simultaneously in more than one county.
Plans call for fishermen to distribute 10,000 bushels of shell in Hyde County, 11,000 bushels in Carteret County, 18,000 bushels in Onslow County and 2,000 bushels in New Hanover County.
To qualify, fishermen must have filed at least one commercial landing trip ticket with the division’s Trip Ticket Program between July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2009.
Fishermen may apply by downloading an application form and returning it to the division by Feb. 26. The form can be found on the division Web site at http://www.ncdmf.net/shellfish/download/cultch_application.pdf.
For more information, contact Clay Caroon, head of the division’s cultch planting program, at (252) 808-8058 or Clay.Caroon@ncdenr.gov.
Contact: Connie Barclay
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
301-713-2370
Dec. 29, 2009
connie.barclay@noaa.gov
National Saltwater Angler Registry Opens on New Year’s Day
New program, part of improved data collection system, to help protect nation’s ocean resources
Saltwater recreational fishermen have long expressed concerns about the data used to estimate the effects of recreational fishing on ocean resources and the nation’s economy. The National Saltwater Angler Registry, which launches on Friday, will help address that concern by providing a comprehensive list of the nation’s saltwater anglers that will be used to improve surveys of fishermen. These surveys are used by NOAA scientists to assess the health of fish stocks and to estimate the economic contributions of anglers.
Many saltwater recreational fishermen will be required to register before fishing in 2010. The registry is open for registrations starting Friday, January 1. But if you have a state saltwater fishing license, you may already be part of the registry.
"By registering, recreational anglers will make their catch count," said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. "The National Saltwater Angler Registry is an important tool that will enable us to better estimate the health of marine fisheries so that we’re able to preserve the pastime of recreational saltwater fishing for generations to come."
"Recreational fishers need the registry," says Capt. Monty Hawkins, a party boat operator and recreational fishing advocate based in Ocean City, Md. "People’s lives depend on the quality of the government’s information. It’s the basis for management decisions on everything from creel limits to whether to shut down whole sections of the coast. I’ve been harshly critical of recreational fishing data in the past, but I welcome the registry as a way to improve upon the current system."
Gordon Colvin, a biologist with NOAA’s Fisheries Service and interim senior policy advisor on recreational fishing to Balsiger, who has spearheaded the registry implementation, said that many anglers will not need to take any action to register, because their coastal states already have agreements in place with NOAA to share state saltwater fishing license information.
Who Needs to Register:
Recreational saltwater fishermen will need to register if they:
• Hold a license from one of 10 coastal states or territories which do not currently have comprehensive saltwater angler license or registration requirements—Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Fish for or are likely to catch anadromous species in tidal and salt waters; these are fish like river herring, shad, smelt and striped bass that live in the oceans but spawn in fresh water, OR
• Fish in the federal waters more than three miles from the ocean shore or from the mouths of rivers or bays
Who Doesn’t Need to Register
Some anglers don’t have to register if they:
• Hold a license from one of 15 coastal states with comprehensive licensing or registration — Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington;
• Are not required under state law in one of these 15 states to hold a fishing license as is sometimes the case with seniors or active-duty military;
• Are under age 16;
• Pay to fish on licensed charter, party or guide boats;
• Hold a Highly Migratory Species Angling permit or subsistence fishing permit;
• Fish commercially under a valid license.
National Saltwater Angler registration is free in 2010. To register beginning Friday, anglers can visit http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov and click on the Angler Registry link, or call the toll-free registration line at 1-888-MRIP411 (1-888-674-7411) from 4:00 am to 12 midnight EST daily.
Anglers will need to provide their name, date of birth, address and telephone number, and will receive a registration number that will allow them to begin fishing immediately. They will receive a registration card in the mail in about 30 days.
Steve Medeiros, executive director of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and a leading advocate for a saltwater fishing license in his state, said the registry is an important step. "While it’s true that some fishermen don’t like the idea of having to register to participate in a sport they’ve taken for granted their whole lives, anyone fishing today knows that increasing pressures on the ocean are having a real effect," he said. "If we’re going to pass the sport down to our children and grandchildren, we’re going to need sound management based on good data."
The registry will be used as the basis for conducting surveys of saltwater recreational fishermen to find out how often they fish. It will eventually replace the use of random-digit dialing to coastal households, a system NOAA has had in place since the 1970s. The goal is to improve survey efficiency and reduce bias by making calls only to homes where people fish, and reaching saltwater anglers who live outside coastal counties.
While the registry is among the most visible aspects of NOAA’s Marine Recreational Information Program, it is only one component of this rigorous multi-year, multi-phased overhaul of the system NOAA uses to collect and report recreational fishing data. Each piece of its design and implementation has been guided by close working relationships among NOAA personnel, fisheries managers, state partners, independent scientists and the recreational fishing community.
Recreational fishermen should also remember that regardless of whether an individual is registered with NOAA, they must obey all state regulations and licensing requirements where they are fishing.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at http://www.noaa.gov and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/noaa.lubchenco.
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