Releases – September 14, 2017
There will be a free Trout Surf Fishing seminar with Dr. Bogus on Monday, October 2, 2017, from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Emerald Isle Parks and Recreation Community Center, 7500 Emerald Drive. Learn about surf fishing from one of the area’s most renowned experts.
Pre-registration is required, and registration is limited to 30 people.
To register for the seminar, call the Emerald Isle Parks and Recreation Department at (252) 354-6350 or email slowe@emeraldisle-nc.org.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen and scientists to serve on the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee.
The committee will assist the Division of Marine Fisheries in amending the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. The commission uses fishery management plans as guides for implementing regulations and other management measures. The committee is expected to begin meeting in the spring of 2018.
Individuals interested in serving as an adviser should be willing to attend meetings at least once a month and participate in the committee process. Advisers will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to their official duties.
For an application, go to http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/mfc-advisory-committees, stop by any Division of Marine Fisheries’ office, or call (252) 808-8022 or (800) 682-2632.
Applications should be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on September 30 to C.J. Alley, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557.
Operation North State (ONS), its supporters, and volunteers are calling on North Carolina’s People, Places, Products, and Pride (especially in the Oak Island/Southport community) to help support the 4th Annual Peer Fishin’ Festival. The Festival will be held Friday, October 6 (rain or shine), on Ocean Crest Pier at Oak Island.
Operation North State and the Oak Island/Southport community will host 400 folks (wounded warriors, DVets, their respective guests, sponsors, pier mates, and volunteers) to a great day of fishing and fellowship.
According to Operation North State’s Founder/Volunteer Terry Snyder, “The event is being held at the request of the wounded warriors/DVets that have fished in ONS’s Top Shelf Fishin’ Festivals throughout the state the past four years. The Peer Fishin’ Festival is one of eight such Fishin’ Festivals hosted throughout North Carolina each year by ONS. There is nothing else like our Fishin’ Festivals’ schedule in the country.”
“The wounded warriors/DVets are so excited to have the opportunity to return to Ocean Crest Pier this year and include their families and friends in the festival as well. Likewise, our sponsors and volunteers are honored to be part of the festival and have the opportunity to give-back,” added Snyder.
The 4th Annual Peer Fishin’ Festival is free to wounded warriors/DVets and their respective guests.
“Operation North State is grateful to the pier mates for providing their time, expertise, and equipment,” Snyder said.
For wounded warriors/DVets to participate, send an email to mailbox@operationnorthstate.com or call (336) 764.5967. Provide your name, email address, telephone number, and what North Carolina town you call home.
ONS is requesting assistance and participation in the Festival as follows: (1) register a wounded warrior/DVet; (2) volunteer; (3) donate product, services, and/or cash for the dinner, snacks, beverages, and prizes; (4) provide a covered dish for the breakfast or lunch; and (5) come spend some time on the pier Friday, October 6, and cheer on these special Americans.
For additional information and/or to show your support, contact Terry Snyder, ONS Founder/Volunteer, at mailbox@operationnorthstate.com or call (336) 764-5967.
Members of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission have new, state email addresses.
A new state law requires commission members to use official state email accounts for all electronic communications related to Marine Fisheries Commission work. Members of the public should use the new email address for all marine fisheries related communications.
Correspondence to and from these email addresses is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
The new email addresses are:
Sammy Corbett, chair—s.corbett.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Chuck Laughridge, vice chair—c.laughridge.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Mark Gorges—m.gorges.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Janet Rose—j.rose.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Mike Wicker—m.wicker.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Brad Koury—b.koury.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Alison Willis—a.willis.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Rick Smith—r.smith.mfc@ncdenr.gov
Marine Fisheries Commission contact information is kept updated at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/north-carolina-marine-fisheries-commission.
For more information, contact Nancy Fish in the Marine Fisheries Commission Office at (252) 808-8021 or Nancy.Fish@ncdenr.gov.
Reserve your tickets for the second annual Mandie Phillips Memorial Tournament Awards and Post-Party event on September 30, 2017. One hundred percent of net proceeds of this “family friendly” evening will go to help local Appalachian State University college students with their higher education expenses.
The 2nd annual Fish for Mandie Fishing Tournament Awards Dinner and Post-Party will take place on Saturday, September 30, 2017, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. The event will once again be held at Motts Channel Seafood, located at 120 Short Street in Wrightsville Beach, NC.
This year’s ticket options are as follows: (1) $30 before September 29; (2) $35 at the door; and (3) $15 for children 12 and under.
The evening will feature a delicious buffet dinner from Parchie’s Barbeque, complimentary wine and beer, live music, announcement of tournament winners, silent and live auction, raffles, and more.
Tickets can be purchased at Motts Channel Seafood or online by visiting www.mottschannelseafood.com, and then clicking on the “Fish for Mandie” link. The “Fish for Mandie” link also has more information on this year’s tournament.
If you ask Bill Register, he’ll tell you he doesn’t like the limelight, so he is a little bashful that his colleagues nominated him for Marine Fisheries Enforcement Officer of the Year.
“It makes me feel good that they think a lot of me,” Register said, “but me, myself, I don’t think I’ve done anything more to get it – I see other guys I think do more.”
Nevertheless, Register will receive the award Sept. 9 at the 54th Annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards Banquet in Cary. And there will be accolades for the many things he has done.
A former Navy Seal, Register was instrumental in developing and implementing a water survival course for Marine Patrol, N.C. Wildlife, and N.C. Marine Fisheries employees. But he is humble about this contribution.
“It was a joint effort for all of us,” Register said.
He has taught other courses, too, such as cold weather shooting and firearms training. He has assisted other instructors with training new hires in pepper spray use, and he has taught several annual in-service training sessions.
When he is not training, he is patrolling the heavily-fished coastal waters of New Hanover County, enforcing size and creel limits and other fishing regulations, monitoring polluted areas and nursery areas for illegal activity, and performing dealer and license inspections and boating safety inspections.
Register said it is one of the best law enforcement jobs you can have because 90 percent of it is proactively educating the public.
“We get to talk to people who are happy to see us,” Register said. “Even if we have to issue someone a citation, it’s usually pretty good encounters.”
When he is not working, this self-professed family man likes to spend time with his wife, Jeannette, and two sons, Jared and Jason. And there is where his modesty ends.
“Both my kids, I’m super proud of,” Register said.
Jared, 18, is going into the Air Force. Jason, 12, has done well in tae kwon do.
Originally from Wilmington, Register graduated from Hoggard High School in 1991. He was active duty in the Navy from 1991 to 2001, and a Navy Seal for the final eight of those years.
He worked with the Wilmington Police Department for three years before joining Marine Patrol in January 2004. He began as a patrol officer in the Surf City area, but his duties moved to New Hanover County in 2008.
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation presents its Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards annually to individuals, associations, businesses, and others who have exhibited unwavering commitment to conservation in North Carolina.
