Added on Thursday, July 8, 2010  Fish Post

Releases – July 8, 2010

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ 2010 Stock Status report shows saltwater fish populations in North Carolina are stable and, in many cases, improving.

“We’re continuing to see some positive trends as reflected in the recovery and continued viability of several species,” said Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

Spiny dogfish moved from “recovering” to “viable” based on a 2010 stock assessment that found that the stock has been rebuilt.

Summer flounder remains listed as recovering, and striped bass in the ocean and in the Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River Management Area remain listed as viable.

“Fishermen potentially may see increased quota for all three of these fisheries for the coming fishing year due to this continued success,” Daniel said.

Additionally, bay scallops continue to recover, allowing for periodic season openings in some water bodies. Oysters, while remaining listed as “concern,” have shown signs of improvement with increased landings and increased spat fall in both wild harvest areas and in sanctuaries.

Spotted seatrout, however, moved from “concern” to “depleted” based on a 2009 stock assessment. The assessment indicated the stock is overfished and undergoing overfishing based on data from 1991-2008.

“We don’t like to see any stocks downgraded, but we’ve already implemented a higher size limit for spotted seatrout and a rebuilding plan should be completed prior to the next harvest season,” Daniel said.

The annual stock status report serves as a general barometer of the overall health of North Carolina’s coastal fishery resources, and it is used to prioritize development of fishery management plans and subsequent plan amendments. 

The 2010 Stock Status Report can be found online at http://www.ncfisheries.net/stocks/index.html. Definitions for the stock status categories can be found at http://www.ncfisheries.net/stocks/stockdef.htm.

For more information, contact division biologist Kathy Rawls at (252) 264-3911 or Kathy.Rawls@ncdenr.gov.

North Carolina anglers have a new web page where they can log their saltwater catches to help state fisheries managers with their recreational fishing surveys.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently launched its new Internet-based electronic reporting system. It can be accessed through the division website at www.ncfisheries.net under “Hot Topics.”

This online tool provides an alternative way for anglers to report their catches when they are contacted for surveys by the division’s Coastal Angling Program, which gathers recreational fishing statistics for the agency.

The division has, for years, contacted recreational anglers through telephone interviews and mail surveys to obtain information for recreational catch statistics. These statistics help authorities determine what size and bag limits or seasons are needed to ensure sustainable fish populations.

“By providing an Internet-based reporting tool, we hope to capture some of the more tech-savvy anglers who no longer use land line telephones or regular mail,” said Chris Wilson, with the division’s Coastal Angling Program.

Many states have begun to adopt these technologies and future innovations to improve their survey capabilities.

The website also provides a section called the Coastal Angling Journal, where any fisherman, not just those contacted for surveys, can voluntarily record catches. Questions include information about the date and time of the fishing trip, the weather, where the fish was caught, and the species targeted and caught.

The Coastal Angling Journal will allow fishermen to keep online records of their individual fishing activity and print reports of that activity. The division will be able to compare the information it receives from those voluntarily recording their trips with the data it gathers through its surveys.

This electronic reporting system was funded, in part, by revenues from the Coastal Recreational Fishing License.

For more information, contact Chris Wilson, with the Coastal Angling Program, at (252) 948-3885 or Chris.Wilson@ncdenr.gov.

Renovations to the Sunset Harbor Public Boating Access Area have been completed, and the popular Brunswick County site re-opened to the public at noon on Friday, July 2.

The revamped N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission facility, located at 356 Riverview Drive off Lockwood Folly Road, features a fishing pier, new boat ramps, and fixed and floating docks. The improved parking lot also has expanded with more spaces.

The Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund, administered by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, paid for additional property to expand the facility, which was the majority of the cost of this project, and some renovations. Vessel registration receipts funded the remainder of the renovations.

The N.C. General Assembly approved the $20 million Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund in 2007 as a way to pay for acquiring waterfront properties or developing facilities to provide or improve waterfront access for the public and marine industry.

“We are grateful that the funding was available to provide such a major upgrade to this coastal boating site,” said Erik Christofferson, chief of the Division of Engineering Services of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “Ultimately, the community, sportsmen, and boaters will benefit from the improved access to our state’s coastal waters.”

“We are pleased to see this and other Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund projects moving forward,” said Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel. “We look forward to continuing partnerships with the Wildlife Resources Commission to develop further sites in the future.”

For more information on boating in North Carolina, including an interactive map of Public Boating Access Areas, visit the boating page on www.ncwildlife.org. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America’s tables is safe to eat.

The federal government, in conjunction with Gulf states regulatory agencies, is playing an active role in ensuring the safety of seafood harvested from federal and state waters. The federal government, led by FDA and NOAA, is taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure that seafood from Gulf waters is not contaminated by oil. The strategy includes precautionary closures, increased seafood testing inspections, and a re-opening protocol. You can read a summary of the FDA-NOAA plan at the Deepwater Horizon Response website at www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.

The first line of defense is NOAA’s fishery area closures, which began May 2 and are adjusted as the spill trajectory changes. The FDA has concurred with this approach. The current federal closure of 32 percent of federal waters encompasses areas known to be affected by oil, either on the surface or below the surface, as well as areas projected to be affected by oil in the next 48-72 hours. The closed area also includes a five-nautical mile buffer as a precaution around the known location of oil.

To help prevent tainted seafood from reaching the market, NOAA created a seafood sampling and inspection plan. Just after the beginning of the spill, it collected and tested seafood of commercial and recreational fish and shellfish species from areas where oil from the spill had not yet reached. NOAA is using ongoing surveillance to evaluate new seafood samples to determine whether contamination is present outside the closed area. If fish samples have elevated levels of oil compounds, NOAA will consider whether to expand closed areas.

The federal effort to ensure seafood is not contaminated with oil will also include NOAA’s dockside sampling of fish products in the Gulf. NOAA will verify that catch was caught outside the closed area using information from vessel monitoring systems that track the location of a vessel or information from on-board observers. If tainted fish are found in dockside sampling, NOAA will notify FDA and state health officials for further action. The FDA also encourages fisherman and consumers to report potential contamination to (888) INFO-FDA.