Releases – July 25, 2013
On Friday, August 2, the Cape Fear Flyfishers will be “The Artist of the Month” at the Franklin Square Gallery, 130 E. West Street, Southport. The gallery opens at 10:00 and there is a reception from 5:00-7:00. The show is free and open to the public.
The Cape Fear Flyfishers will be displaying flies they have tied (fresh and saltwater) and rods they have built (fly, spinning, bait casting, and trolling). In addition, there will be an outdoor display of several boats used by club members to fly fish in our area. There will be a fly tying exhibit with flies being tied as you watch and information about rod building.
This should be a very interesting event for all anglers, especially those who fish with fly rods or would like to get into the sport. Members of the club will be at the gallery all day to answer questions.
You can find out more information by calling Jim White at (910) 477-0441.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is requesting public input on proposed management measures affecting the fishery management plans for snapper grouper, dolphin and wahoo, coral, and coastal migratory pelagics (includes king mackerel, spanish mackerel, and cobia). The public is encouraged to provide written comment and participate in upcoming public hearings scheduled from August 5-15, 2013, throughout the region on the proposed changes to management measures. The following amendments to fishery management plans are being considered:
Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 14 includes: (1) changes to the fishing years for greater amberjack and black sea bass; (2) changes to the commercial trip limit for gag; (3) modifications to the commercial fishing seasons for vermilion snapper; and (4) modifications to recreational accountability measures for vermilion snapper and black sea bass.
Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 5 includes: (1) modifications to the acceptable biological catches (ABCs), annual catch limits (ACLs), and annual catch targets (ACTs) for dolphin and wahoo to incorporate changes in the Marine Recreational Information Program; (2) proposed trip limits for the commercial dolphin fishery; (3) revised accountability measures for dolphin and wahoo; and (4) changes to framework procedures.
Coastal Migratory Pelagics Amendments 19, 20, and Framework includes: (1) alternatives affecting the sale of bag limit king mackerel and Spanish mackerel (including tournament sale of king mackerel); (2) elimination of inactive king mackerel permits; (3) modifications to income requirements for federal permits; (4) transit provisions; (5) ACLs and targets for cobia; (6) commercial trip limits for king mackerel; (7) transfer at sea and gill net allowances for spanish mackerel; (8) consideration of regional ACLs for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel; and (9) changes to Framework procedures.
Coral Amendment 8 includes: (1) alternatives for expanding existing Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs); and (2) transit provisions for the Oculina Bank HAPC located off the central east coast of Florida.
The Council will hold a series of public hearings from Key Largo, Florida, to New Bern, North Carolina. Council staff will be on hand to provide an overview of the proposed measures and available for informal discussions and to answer questions. Members of the public will have an opportunity to go on record to provide comments for consideration by the Council.
Local Council representatives will attend the hearings and listen to public comment. The Council will also have a summary available of its preliminary work towards developing a shared vision for the future of the snapper grouper fishery and staff will be on hand to answer questions.
The SAFMC Public Hearing Schedule for North Carolina is Thursday, August 15, from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM, at the BridgePoint Hotel, 101 Howell Street, New Bern, NC 28582. For more information about the New Bern meeting, you can call (877) 283-7713.
Written comments will be accepted until 5:00 PM on August 18, 2013. Instructions for submitting comments, including email comments, are available from the Council’s web site. Copies of the public hearing documents will be available on the website by July 23, 2013, and also available by contacting the Council office at (843) 571-4366 or Toll Free (866) SAFMC-10.
Prior to the public hearings, Council staff will conduct informal question and answer sessions via webinar on the various amendments in order to help the public become informed on the details of the proposed measures. The evening webinars are scheduled for July 29-31, 2013, starting at 6:00 PM.
Registration is required and is available at the links below or from the public hearing page. Be sure to view the online video presentations prior to the Q&A Sessions. The presentations will be posted to the public hearing page beginning the week of July 22nd: July 29–Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 5; July 30–Coastal Migratory Pelagics Amendments 19, 20, and Framework; and July 31–Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 14 & Coral Amendment 8.
The Marine Fisheries Commission Chairman, Rob Bizzell, has called a meeting of the Finfish, Habitat and Water Quality, Sea Turtle and Shellfish/Crustacean advisory committees on Tuesday, July 30 at 12:30 p.m. The purpose of the joint meeting, to be held at the River Front Convention Center in New Bern, is for the advisory committees to review and make recommendations on a petition submitted by Tim Hergenrader.
The petition asks the commission to adopt a rule that makes North Carolina’s internal coastal waters permanent secondary nursery areas, unless they are currently designated as primary nursery areas or special secondary nursery areas. This petition would not halt shrimp trawling and destroy a valuable industry, it would simply move the trawlers into waters not shown to be nursery areas.
After the petition has been read, the committee members will be permitted to ask questions, and then the Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel will respond to the petition, followed by another question and answer session for committee members. Next, the floor will be opened to public comment, allowing three minutes per person.
All other shrimp producing states in the Southeast and Gulf Coasts have instituted similar regulations and all have viable, healthy, and profitable shrimp industries. North Carolina remains the only state with virtually unrestricted and unregulated shrimp trawling in its waters. By eliminating inshore trawling, specifically the bycatch associated, forage fish such as croaker and spot would once again be able to thrive which would directly affect predator fish such as red drum and speckled sea trout.
CCA NC encourages all of you to come to the meeting and voice your support for it.
Internal waters in Pamlico Sound and upper Core Sound will close to large-mesh gill net fishing Wednesday evening on July 24.
The action is being taken due to the number of observed sea turtle interactions in the gill net fishery in upper Core Sound and southeastern Pamlico Sound.
Since late May, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Observer Program has observed eight sea turtle interactions, including two dead green sea turtles, three live green sea turtles, one live loggerhead sea turtle, one live hybrid sea turtle (loggerhead-Kemp’s ridley), and one live sea turtle of unknown species (it fell out of the net before it could be identified).
One of the observed dead green sea turtle interactions was in a gill net set prior to one hour before sunset, which is a violation of state fishing regulations.
Large-mesh gill net fishing in these waters is subject to management measures resulting from a lawsuit settlement agreement between the state and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
The state is also seeking a statewide Incidental Take Permit under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act for the gill net fisheries in internal waters. These permits allow for limited takes of threatened or endangered species in an otherwise lawful activity.
The closure takes effect one hour before sunset on July 24, and applies to set gill nets with stretched mesh between 4 inches and 6 ½ inches that are fished south of Croatan and Roanoke sounds to lower Core Sound, as described in Proclamation M-21-2013. The proclamation can be found on the division’s website at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamations.
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 at least Sept. 1.
For more information, contact the division’s Protected Resources Section chief Chris Batsavage at (252) 808-8009 or Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.
