Releases – June 9, 2011
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for proposals for the 2012 funding cycle from the N.C. Marine Resources Fund.
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 one of these eligible entities.
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 website at www.ncfisheries.net/grants/CRFL_GrantsInfo.html.
Projects submitted for this funding cycle should fall under one of three programmatic areas:
Fish – Projects that estimate fishing effort, harvest, and mortality of important coastal fish species, the socio-economic attributes of coastal fisheries or the characterization of catch and release mortality;
Habitat – Projects that improve the effectiveness of existing environmental programs or that identify, designate, or protect coastal fish habitat;
People – Projects that provide increased access to fisheries resources and enhancement structures or provide better public education and enrichment products.
All proposals must be submitted to the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries by 5 p.m. on July 29. Directions for submitting a proposal and an application form can be downloaded from the Division of Marine Fisheries’ website at www.ncfisheries.net/grants/CRFL_GrantsInfo.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 email Jones at Bonnie.B.Jones@ncdenr.gov.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission has scheduled five meetings to receive public input on allowing the commercial use of hook-and-line for the ocean striped bass fishery.
N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries staff will present a variety of potential management options for allowing this fishery. The commission is seeking any other ideas from the public.
The commission has not yet decided if it wants to allow the commercial use of hook-and-line for ocean-caught striped bass, but will consider public comments at its August meeting in deciding whether to move forward with a proposal.
Currently, North Carolina’s share of the coast-wide commercial ocean striped bass annual quota is split evenly between three commercial gear types: trawls, gill nets and beach seines. The commercial use of hook-and-line in the striped bass fishery has been prohibited since 1985.
Potential management options range from keeping the fishery at status quo, to adding hook-and-line as a fourth gear under the current permit system, to replacing the use of trawl gear with the use of hook-and-line gear. Some of the options include the possibility of establishing a limited entry system for this fishery.
The meetings will be held in conjunction with advisory committee meetings at the below dates, times and locations:
Central Regional Advisory Committee, June 14 at 6 p.m., N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City
Finfish Advisory Committee, June 15 at 10:30 a.m., N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington
Southeast Regional Advisory Committee, June 16 at 6 p.m., N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Wilmington Regional Office, 127 Cardinal Drive, Wilmington
Inland Regional Advisory Committee, June 28 at 6 p.m., Archdale Building, Ground Floor Hearing Room, 512 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh
Northeast Regional Advisory Committee, June 30 at 6 p.m., Commissioners Meeting Room, Dare County Administrative Building, 954 Marshall C. Collins Dr., Manteo
Written comments will be accepted until July 18 and should be addressed to Michelle Duval, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557 or sent by email to Michelle.Duval@ncdenr.gov.
For more information, contact Duval at (252) 808-8011 or by email or call the commission office at (252) 808-8021.
North Carolina commercial seafood harvests rose slightly, by 4 percent, in 2010 to the highest level since 2005.
The same was true for recreational harvests, which inched up 6 percent after a 15 percent decline in 2009.
Commercial fishermen brought in 72 million pounds of fish and shellfish, with a dockside value of $80 million in 2010, according to the division’s Commercial Trip Ticket Program. That was a 3 percent increase from the previous five-year landings average of 70 million pounds.
The increased harvest came with a 3 percent decrease in the number of commercial fishing trips. Commercial fishermen took 152,084 fishing trips in 2010.
Included in the commercial gains was an 8 percent increase in shellfish, shrimp, and crab landings, bolstered by an 81 percent jump in oyster landings.
Oystermen sold more than 1 million pounds of oyster meats (196,661 bushels), with a dockside value of about $5 million, to North Carolina seafood dealers in 2010. The landings were 125 percent higher than the previous five-year average and corresponded to a 139-percent increase in the use of oyster dredges.
Blue crabs remained the state’s top commercial seafood in both pounds harvested and dockside value, followed by Atlantic croaker (7.3 million pounds), shrimp (6 million pounds), summer flounder (3.3 million pounds), and bluefish (3.2 million pounds).
While overall commercial finfish harvests remained consistent, with a slight 0.5 percent increase from 2009, Atlantic croaker and bluefish harvests increased by 19 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
Southern flounder landings decreased by 29 percent. Much of this decrease can be attributed to a 45 percent reduction in flounder landings from gill nets. Regulations from a settlement in the sea turtle lawsuit may have contributed to the reduced gill net landings.
An overall 61 percent reduction in commercial dolphin landings corresponds to fewer dolphin-targeted trips made with longline and trolling gears last year. King mackerel landings decreased by 58 percent, corresponding to 65 percent fewer trips targeting king mackerel with trolling gear.
Tuna landings decreased, as well–yellowfin by 33 percent, bigeye by 43 percent, and bluefin by 65 percent.
Recreational harvests rose from 13.6 million pounds in 2009 to 14.4 million pounds in 2010, according to the division’s Coastal Angling Program. The increased harvest corresponds to a 7 percent rise in the overall number of recreational fishing trips. However, fishing trips into federal waters (beyond three miles from shore) dropped by 18 percent.
“The recreational rise was due mainly to the poundage associated with the striped bass catches and the increase in bluefish landings,” said division Recreational Statistics Coordinator Doug Mumford. “The bluefish increase resulted from the increase in beach, bank, and pier trips.”
The jump in ocean striped bass harvests likely resulted from more fish migrating into North Carolina waters during the past winter than in previous years, Mumford said.
“There was an overall shift in recreational fishing effort in North Carolina to trips that were less expensive,” he said.
Dolphin landings decreased by nearly 15 percent to 3.3 million pounds. Even so, dolphin remained the top recreational catch, followed by yellowfin tuna, up 48 percent to 1.2 million pounds; bluefish, up 21 percent to 1.2 million pounds; ocean striped bass, up 239 percent to 711,184 pounds; and spanish mackerel, down 35 percent to 579,638 pounds.
Recreational angler fishing trips rose by about 4 percent from piers and other man-made structures; by about 8 percent from the beach or bank; nearly 10 percent from guide and charter boats; and 9 percent from private vessels. Party boat trips decreased by 15 percent.
A full report of 2010 commercial and recreational landings statistics can be found on the division website at www.ncfisheries.net. For more information, contact License and Statistics Section Chief Don Hesselman at (252) 808-8099 or Don.Hesselman@ncdenr.gov.
