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Contact: Patricia Smith State Closes Large-Mesh Gill Net Fishing In Core Sound to Protect Sea Turtles MOREHEAD CITY – N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel will close Core Sound to large-mesh gill net fishing Monday. The action is being taken due to the number of observed sea turtle interactions that have occurred since June 1. “We have seen more sea turtles than usual in the areas around Cape Lookout this year,” Daniel said. “It is unfortunate that as the number of sea turtles increase in this area, the number of interactions with fisheries increases, as well.” Daniel implemented stricter regulations on North Carolina’s inshore large-mesh gill net fishery May 15 under a lawsuit settlement agreement between the state and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. As part of the agreement, the division is observing large-mesh gill net fishing in inshore waters to track interactions with sea turtles. The state is also seeking a statewide Incidental Take Permit under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act for North Carolina’s gill net fisheries. Since implementation of the new regulations, observers have documented 20 interactions with sea turtles in 24 fishing nights, and 14 of these observations occurred in Core Sound. Of the total interactions, 16 turtles were alive. “By closing Core Sound, the state is trying to maintain protection of threatened and endangered sea turtles while continuing the flounder gill net fishery in areas where few or no sea turtle interactions have been observed,” Daniel said. The closure takes effect one hour before sunset Monday and applies to all gill nets between 4 inches and 6 ½ inches stretched mesh that are fished as set nets in Core Sound. The closure does not apply to run-around, strike or drop nets that are used to surround a school of fish and then are immediately retrieved. The closure will remain in place until Sept. 1. For specific regulations and a map of the closure area, see Proclamation M-11-2010 on the division’s website at http://www.ncfisheries.net/procs/index.html. Contact: Patricia Smith State Scientists Collecting Fish and Shellfish Samples in Preparation for Any Potential Effects from Gulf Oil Spill MOREHEAD CITY – State fisheries scientists are collecting samples of fish and shellfish to use for baseline background comparisons for seafood harvested in North Carolina if contaminants from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reach North Carolina waters. “We still believe there is a very low probability that our state will see any significant effects from the oil spill, but just in case, we’re collecting these samples and securing them for analysis at a later date,” said Secretary Dee Freeman of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Biologists with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries are collecting fish, shrimp and crabs from different coastal rivers, sounds and ocean waters of the state, following specific scientific collection protocols for handling and storing the samples. Likewise, environmental specialists with the Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Quality Section of the N.C. Division of Environmental Health are collecting oysters and clams. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has caused extremely large amounts of crude oil to be released into the environment. Oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are chemical hazards. These contaminants can accumulate in seafood at levels that can cause illness. The presence of petroleum taint can also render seafood unfit for human consumption. Additionally, fish or shellfish exposure to high concentrations of these toxins, either directly or through eating contaminated plants or animals, may reduce their growth and reproduction, affecting populations. These effects can last for many years, depending on the concentration of oil. Should state authorities begin to see impacts in North Carolina waters from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the fish and shellfish samples collected now can be tested and used as a baseline to compare to samples collected in North Carolina following observed impact from the oil spill to help determine the extent of contamination. This information, should it show contamination levels high enough to cause a health risk, could help fisheries officials determine if they should close certain waters to seafood harvesting and fishing. The information would also offer proof of environmental impact, leading to economic impact, should the state seek financial compensation for damages from the oil industry. For more information, contact Patricia Smith, public information officer with the Division of Marine Fisheries, at (252) 808-8025 or Tricia.Smith@ncdenr.gov, or Laura Leonard, public information officer with the Division of Environmental Health, at (919) 715-3204 or Laura.Leonard@ncdenr.gov. Contact: Kim Iverson Red Snapper Fishery Remains Closed in South AtlanticAdditional regulations to end overfishing and restore stock approved for review by Secretary of CommerceThe red snapper fishery remains closed to both commercial and recreational fishermen throughout federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) in the South Atlantic region. Measures taken by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council during its meeting in Orlando, Fla. this past week may determine how long the closure stays in place as well as other regulations impacting fishermen who target the 73 species that make up the snapper grouper management complex. The additional regulations could be implemented by December of this year. Management Measures in Amendment 17A Public Comment The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, one of eight regional councils, conserves and manages fish stocks from three to 200 miles offshore of N.C., S.C., Georgia and east Florida. Contact: Patricia Smith Grant Money Available for Recreational Boating Infrastructure MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting proposals for the Boating BIG is a grant program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that reimburses up to 75 percent of projects that provide dockage and other facilities for recreational transient vessels that are at least 26 feet long. It was authorized by Congress in 1998 and is funded by excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat fuel. The division serves as the liaison between projects in North Carolina and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the BIG program. Some examples of potentially eligible activities include transient slips, mooring buoys, day-docks, safe harbor facilities (including temporary safe anchorage or a harbor of refuge during a storm), floating and fixed piers and breakwaters, dinghy docks, restrooms, retaining walls, bulkheads, dockside utilities, sewage pump-out stations, recycling and trash receptacles, dockside electric, water and telephone capabilities, one-time dredging, navigational aids and marine fueling stations. BIG funds are distributed each year. Grants are available on a two-tiered basis. For Tier 1 grants, all states receive $100,000 per grant cycle as long as proposals meet the program's guidelines. Tier 2 grants are reserved for large-scale, more expensive undertakings and are awarded on a nationwide competitive basis. This past year, Beaufort Harbor Marina and Yacht Club of Beaufort competed successfully at the Tier 2, national level. They are scheduled to receive more than $455,000 toward the development of a full-service marina in Beaufort’s Town Creek. Cypress Cove Marina in Columbia will receive a Tier 1 grant award. For information about grant availability and proposal development, please visit the division’s website at http://www.ncdmf.net/grants/BIG.html or contact Kelly Price, Federal Aid coordinator for the division, at P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557-0769. You may also contact Price at (252) 808-8168 or 800-682-2632 (in North Carolina only). You may contact Price by e-mail at Kelly.Price@ncdenr.gov. The deadline for applications to be received by the division is July 29. Electronic submission is preferred. Contact: Patricia Smith Fishermen May Use Top Line to Connect Multiple Gill Net Sets MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will allow fishermen to use a top line to connect multiple 100-yard gill net sets. Division Director Louis Daniel issued a proclamation today revising regulations that went into effect May 15 to allow for this change. The regulations still limit fishermen who use large mesh gill nets (4-inch to 6 ½ mesh) to 100-yard sets in most inshore waters of the state, but allow a continuous top line to facilitate deployment and retrieval of the nets. “I am convinced the fishermen who use net reels will be able to get their nets up more quickly and efficiently if we allow them to use a continuous top line,” Daniel said. Daniel reconsidered an earlier decision about the use of top line after receiving comments from fishermen about retrieval methods when using net reels. He also states that use of a top line will not pose additional threat to threatened and endangered sea turtles. “I have listened to the fishermen and want to do what I can to allow them to fish while still protecting sea turtles,” Daniel said. The revised regulations go into effect at 5 p.m. Sunday. An attached diagram illustrates the provisions set forth in the proclamation. Contact: Patricia Smith Marine Fisheries Commission Seeks Sea Turtle Advisers MOREHEAD CITY - The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for individuals to serve on the Sea Turtle Advisory Committee and provide advice on various issues related to sea turtles. Duties of this committee will include, but are not limited to:
Individuals interested in serving as advisers should be willing to attend meetings at least once every two months and actively participate in the committee process. Advisers will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to their official duties. The Marine Fisheries Commission chairman appoints committee members for three-year terms. Adviser applications are available online at http://www.ncfisheries.net/mfc/advisorforms.html or by calling (252) 808-8022 or (800) 682-2632. Applications should be returned by July 7 to the Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557, Attention: Kelly Mullen. June 9, 2010 Contact: Patricia Smith MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will allow gill net fishermen to modify their old flounder nets to meet current regulations for mesh depth. Fishermen may bind their old nets so that they fish only 15 meshes deep, said Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. Daniel issued a proclamation May 13, which took effect May 15, requiring fishermen that set large mesh gill nets (4-inch to 6 ½ mesh) to use low-profile nets of no more than 15 meshes in height in inshore waters. Mesh size refers to the size of the openings between the knots of a net. “We’ve heard from so many fishermen, who either could not find 15-mesh webbing or had already purchased deeper nets prior to the new regulation taking effect May 15,” Daniel said. “We wanted to allow them a way to continue to fish, with the expectation that they will purchase the proper 15-mesh webbing in the future.” Deeper nets may be cinched every 10 feet, so that they fish as a low-profile net, Daniel said. The nets may not fish deeper than 15 meshes at any place on the net, he said. Another policy-decision the division has made to clarify the new net regulations pertains to the use of float lines. The proclamation prohibits the use of cork, floats or other buoys, except those required for identification, on large mesh gill nets set north of the B. Cameron Langston Bridge at N.C. 58 in Emerald Isle in inshore waters. The proclamation does not specifically prohibit the use of float line (foam core line where the flotation is built inside the rope) and the division is allowing its use. However, fishermen may not use a continuous line of float line for multiple sets. They may use a continuous lead line on the bottom of the net, but these nets require two yellow, properly-marked buoys at the end of each 100 yard shot of net. The proclamation also does not require tie-downs for nets, although the requirement for tie-downs in the upper Neuse, Pamlico and Pungo rivers is still in effect.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JUNE 3, 2010 States Schedule Hearings on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II Washington, DC – Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow: Maine Department of Marine Resources New Hampshire Fish and Game Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection July 14, 2010; 7:00 PM New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources July 19, 2010; 6:00 PM Virginia Marine Resources Commission North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries July 7, 2010; 6:00 PM The Draft Addendum proposes two changes to the striped bass management program: (1) an increase in the coastal commercial quota, and (2) revising the definition of recruitment failure based on Technical Committee advice. The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota is intended to improve equality between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Although Amendment 6 established management programs for both fisheries based on the same target fishing mortality rate, the implementation of state-specific quotas for coastal commercial harvest (and not for recreational harvest) has prevented the commercial and recreational fisheries from responding equally to changes in striped bass population size. Since 2003, coastal commercial harvest has decreased by 3.6 percent, while recreational harvest has increased by 13.7 percent. Under the option, the Board would select a percent increase to be applied to the coastal commercial allocations assigned in Amendment 6. The Management Board voted to include a second issue in the Draft Addendum based on information presented at the meeting. As part of its review of the juvenile abundance indices, the Striped Bass Technical Committee recommended to the Management Board a revision to how striped bass recruitment failure is defined. Juvenile abundance indices are an important component of the striped bass monitoring program and are used to determine periods of recruitment failure which can trigger management action under Amendment 6. Adopting the proposed recommendation would result in a fixed value to determine recruitment failure in each surveyed area rather than a value that changes from year to year. Use of either the Amendment 6 definition or the Technical Committee recommendation for recruitment failure does not result in any necessary changes to the current management program. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Addendum can be obtained via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 1, 2010 and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, FMP Coordinator, 1444 Eye Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at nmeserve@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Addendum II). For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or nmeserve@asmfc.org. Contact:
Marc Turano Contact: Patricia Smith
The fund, which receives proceeds from the sale of Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses, provides grants for projects that help manage, protect, restore, develop, cultivate and enhance the state’s marine resources. Only universities, North Carolina local government entities, the state Division of Marine Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Commission are eligible to apply. Others must partner with an eligible entity. Proposals will be evaluated based on the CRFL Strategic Plan for the Conservation and Improvement of North Carolina’s Marine Resources. The plan considers priority research needs identified in fishery management plans approved by the Marine Fisheries Commission, issues identified in the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan and research needs identified cooperatively with other agencies. The strategic plan can be found on the Division of Marine Fisheries Web site at http://www.ncfisheries.net/CRFL/index.html. Projects submitted for this funding cycle should fall under one of three programmatic areas:
All proposals must be submitted to the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries by 5 p.m. July 30. Directions for submitting a proposal and an application form can be downloaded from the Division of Marine Fisheries’ website at http://www.ncfisheries.net/CRFL/index.html. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. For more information, contact CRFL Project Coordinator Bonnie Jones at (252) 808-8113 or (800) 682-2698. You may also e-mail Jones at Bonnie.B.Jones@ncdenr.gov. |