Releases – Winter 2012-2013
North Carolina Sea Grant, along with various other conservation groups is sponsoring an opportunity to enjoy face time with members of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and N.C. General Assembly. This forum is open to anyone who has an interest in marine recreational fishing.
The event is at the McKimmon Center on NC State’s campus on Saturday, February 16, 2013, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The event is free to the public but pre-registration is required to attend. Lunch will be provided.
Topics for the forum will include: (1) Marine Recreational Regulatory Discards vs. Catch-and-Release; what’s the difference, and how can we improve fish survivability? (2) Economic Value of the Marine Recreational Fishing Sector–Relative importance and in what way is data being used in fisheries management? (3) Understanding the Roles of the Regulators; who does what?–MAFMC, SAFMC, ASMFC, NCMFC.
The Forum is sponsored by North Carolina Sea Grant, a university-based coastal and marine science research and outreach program. Contact Lisa Humphrey at humphryl@uncw.edu or (910) 962-2490 for more information. You may also visit their website www.ncseagrant.org/recfishforum for further details.
A Nov. 26 report of illegal gill netting in Craven County has led to two men being arrested by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, their boat seized, and the wrongfully taken fish given to a community food bank.
The investigation began with a late evening report of suspicious activity in the Hancock Creek area near the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. A coordinated response by the Wildlife Commission and the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Division of Marine Fisheries, halted the illegal fishing and made the case, but not before 89 spotted sea trout and two mullet had been caught.
Gill nets are vertical panels of netting hung down in the water from a series of floats set in a straight line. Fish trying to swim through gill nets become entangled, which allows gill-net fishermen to retrieve the nets from the water and harvest the entangled fish. The use of gill nets is prohibited in inland fishing waters of Craven County and strictly regulated in the coastal fishing waters of North Carolina. The recreational regulations for spotted sea trout are a four-fish daily creel limit per person with a 14-inch minimum size limit.
The suspects had 450 yards of fine-mesh gill net stretched across the entire width of Hancock Creek, which is designated as inland waters. Some of the illegally harvested spotted sea trout weighed up to six pounds and the total weight of the fish seized was 178 pounds.
Charges filed include taking inland game fish by method other than hook and line; taking nongame fish by method other than hook and line in an area with no open season; exceeding the daily creel limit; and obstructing the passage of boats on a public waterway. The two men charged are currently free under secured bond.
The investigation was led by Wildlife Officer Kyle Van Althuis, assisted by fellow wildlife officers Ryan Taylor and Michael Gunn, and Deputy Carmell Locklear with the Craven County Sheriff’s Office.
Sportsmen and the public can assist conservation of fish and wildlife resources by reporting violations, such as illegal gill netting in inland waters, by calling (800) 662-7137. Callers can remain anonymous.
The commercial harvest of red snapper and gray triggerfish in federal waters of the South Atlantic from North Carolina to Key West, Florida, will re-open from 12:01 a.m. (local time), December 12, until 12:01 a.m. (local time) December 19, 2012. Updated landings data indicate the commercial annual catch limits for red snapper and gray triggerfish were not met; therefore, NOAA Fisheries is re-opening commercial harvest of red snapper and gray triggerfish.
The operator of a vessel that has been issued a federal commercial permit for snapper-grouper and that is landing red snapper or gray triggerfish for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such species prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time) December 19, 2012. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to sale or purchase of red snapper or gray triggerfish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time) December 19, 2012, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
During the re-opening, the commercial trip limit for red snapper is 50 pounds gutted weight. There is no minimum size limit for red snapper during the commercial re-opening.
During the re-opening, the commercial size limit for gray triggerfish is 12 inches total length off the coast of Eastern Florida only. Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina do not have size limits for landing commercially harvested gray triggerfish. There is no trip limit for gray triggerfish.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has completed work on the Mann’s Harbor Boating Access Area, and it is now open to the public.
The site, off U.S. 64 in Dare County, was renovated to include three new boat ramps, two new floating docks, new bulkhead and shoreline docks, and a gravel parking lot. The lot has 49 vehicle/trailer spaces and seven single car spaces. This marks the completion of the first phase of the project. The Commission is currently pursuing local partnerships to complete the final phase which will include additional commercial fishing facilities as well as a kayak and canoe launching area.
“This access area on the Croatan Sound is important to commercial fishermen and recreational boaters and anglers alike,” said Erik Christofferson, chief of the Commission’s Division of Engineering Services. “We are so pleased with our partnership with the Division of Marine Fisheries that allowed funding for this project to happen.”
Acquisition of the property was made possible through a grant of more than $4 million provided by the Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund—a grant program administered by the Division of Marine Fisheries that aims to develop facilities to provide, improve, or develop public and commercial waterfront access. The remaining funding for construction was provided from Sportfish Restoration Funds and motorboat registration receipts.
“Our goal with the Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund was to finance multi-purpose access sites that served both commercial and recreational fishermen, as well as the general public,” said Louis Daniel, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries. “The Mann’s Harbor project fits well into this objective and was one of the highest priority sites for funding.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed construction of a rock arch ramp—or “fish passage way”—at the Cape Fear River Lock and Dam No. 1, located 32 miles upriver from Wilmington. Completion of the rock arch ramp coincides with the release of the “Cape Fear River Basin Action Plan for Migratory Fish” by the Cape Fear River Partnership, which includes the Corps of Engineers as a non-member organization playing a role in the development of the action plan.
The partnership, which is a coalition of state and federal natural resources agencies, academic entities, and private and non-governmental organizations, released the draft action plan in early December. Public comments will be taken through Dec. 19.
The rock arch ramp is expected to improve passage of anadromous fish such as striped bass, American shad, river herring, and sturgeon during their spring migrations to reach historical spawning grounds. An evaluation will follow the rock arch ramp construction, assessing fishes’ use of the ramp over a two-year study. This winter, the partnership will construct an ADA-compliant, 90-foot wide fishing pier for anglers, paved parking and access at the rock arch ramp, with plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony in spring 2013.
The partnership’s plan to begin constructing fishing access coincides with its request for public comment on its “Cape Fear River Basin Action Plan for Migratory Fish.” The draft plan provides long-term, habitat-based solutions for the most pressing challenges to migratory fish in the Cape Fear River basin, which stretches from North Carolina’s Triad area near Greensboro to the mouth of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington.
The plan identifies threats to migratory fish populations, outlines actions to improve water quality, habitat conditions, and fish passage, and will determine the community and economic benefits of improved migratory fish populations, which include American shad, striped bass, river herring, American eel, and endangered Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon.
The public can comment on the plan three ways: (1) send an email to NMFS.Capefear.Comments@noaa.gov; (2) send a fax to 301-713-4305, attention Janine Harris; send mail to Janine Harris, NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation, SSMC3, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Those interested in providing comment can access a full draft electronically or obtain a hard copy at the following locations:
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center, 7489 Raeford Rd., Fayetteville, N.C. 28314, 910-868-5003.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, 127 Cardinal Drive Ext., Wilmington, N.C. 28403, 910-796-7315.
Cape Fear River Watch, 617 Surrey Downs Ct., Wilmington, N.C. 28403, 910-762-5606.
All comments must be in writing. Comments will not be accepted by phone.
At more than 9,000 square miles, the Cape Fear River basin is the largest watershed in North Carolina. Poor habitat quality in rivers and streams threatens fish, such as American shad, striped bass, river herring, American eel, and endangered Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon populations. Dams and other blockages prevent or delay many migratory fish from swimming upstream to lay eggs.
“Improved habitat conditions in the Cape Fear River will benefit not only these important fish species, but also the communities that depend on the river for its abundant water supply and rich recreational opportunities,” said Anne Deaton, Habitat Protection Section Chief for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. “The economic value of recreational fishing on the Cape Fear is estimated to be more than $1 million annually, and this number has potential to grow substantially as populations of some fish species expand in the Cape Fear.”
Keeping the public informed and sustaining public support are important to the partnership, according to Kemp Burdette, Cape Fear Riverkeeper with Cape Fear River Watch.
“This is a huge win for the Cape Fear River fisheries,” Burdette said. “With the completion of the fish passage at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear, anadromous fish will be able to swim upstream toward their historic spawning grounds for the first time in nearly a century. But there is still work to be done, which is why the action plan is needed to ensure we have a well-informed public providing input to the partnership throughout the project.”
