Releases – October 14, 2010
The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) today revealed new research that will help the boating industry better understand consumer attitudes towards boat purchases. RBFF’s Quantitative Study of Consumer Attitudes, announced at the International Boatbuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), shows the boating lifestyle is robust, but buying habits have shifted.
“People are going to continue to buy boats, but more cautiously without applying for as much financing,” said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. “We hope our boating stakeholders will use this research to help develop their marketing strategies for the coming year.”
Despite the economic downturn, nearly half of all consumers claim they are still in the market for a boat in the next three years.
Consumers as a whole are not moving away from boating, but rather are more likely to try and find ways to make boating less costly. For example, they plan on doing more repairs themselves or plan to spend less on accessories for their boat.
Three in ten consumers are considering purchasing a pre-owned boat.
The main reason why current boat owners are not in the market for a boat (new or used) is that 66 percent are simply satisfied with their current boat.
The study was conducted by RBFF and BrandSpark International in June 2010 and provides detailed information on 1,885 boat owners and 977 non-boat owners ages 18 to 69. The methodology and full study is available online at RBFF.org.
Commercial fishermen wishing to participate in the ocean striped bass fishery this winter need to purchase an Atlantic Ocean Striped Bass Commercial Gear Permit.
The permit costs $10 and is available at any N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries license office. Fisherman can also call the division to request a mail-in application.
The permit must be obtained before Nov. 1 for a fisherman to be eligible to participate in the fishery this winter. Fishermen may obtain only one permit per person.
At the time of permit application, the person holding the commercial fishing license or license assignment must declare what type of gear he intends to use: gill net, trawl, or beach seine. Gear declarations are binding on the permit holder for three consecutive years without regard to subsequent annual permit issuance.
Fishermen who obtained a permit last year must apply for another permit this year and declare the same gear type as last year.
This is the second year North Carolina has required a commercial ocean striped bass gear permit. The permit was implemented to curtail conflicts between commercial fishermen competing for an annual quota. In the past, these conflicts have resulted in derby-style fishing and early season closures.
For more information on the permit, contact Don Hesselman, chief of the DMF License and Statistics Section, at (252) 808-8099 or Don.Hesselman@ncdenr.gov.
You are on your boat with your line in the water and you are anxiously waiting for that big one to take the bait, when, all of a sudden, you feel the tug.
You just know you have a keeper on the end of your line, but up pops the head of a turtle! Now, what do you do?
It’s not a farfetched idea.
Sightings of turtles are a common experience, said Captain Joe Shute, with Fish Finder Charters and Captain Joe Shute’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Beach.
“I see sea turtles about every trip where we go in the ocean,” said Shute, who charters trips in the ocean and in the rivers and sounds.
While sightings and interactions are less common in the rivers and sounds, they do happen, Shute said.
“I’ve caught them on shrimp beside the turning basin on a two-hook bottom rig,” Shute said.
Shute said he believes he is seeing more sea turtles now than in the past.
In one trip this past spring, Shute had already seen 15-20 loggerheads while fishing in the area of the Big Rock. On his way back to shore, he saw even more.
“We saw close to 100 that day,” Shute said. “We saw 50 within a two-mile stretch.”
Dr. Craig Harms, a veterinarian for the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach, estimated that about 15 percent of the patients at the hospital come in with hook and line injuries.
According to the Rehabilitation Center’s website admission records, 8 out of 22 admissions so far in 2010 involved hook injuries. Other injuries in recent years include disease, fractures, gill nets, and cold stun.
The turtles are brought in from all up and down the coast, more often in the summer, Harms said. The hooks usually come from heavy duty gear, either from a commercial long line or big game fishing, but a few also come from fishing piers each year.
Harms, also an associate professor for N.C. State University College of Veterinary Medicine at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, said the severity of the hook and line injuries depend on how the animal is hooked.
“If they are not deep hooked, and the hook can be removed through the mouth, they can often be released immediately, or after only a standard course of antibiotics,” Harms said. “If they are deep hooked, or require surgery, or cause internal damage, the rehabilitation process can be prolonged.
“Line entanglements can complicate matters by wrapping around limbs and either cutting into the soft tissues or cutting off circulation.”
So what does an angler do if he accidentally hooks a sea turtle?
All sea turtles found in North Carolina waters are listed as either threatened or endangered species; therefore, it is illegal to harm them in any way.
It is the responsibility of the angler to know how to carefully and skillfully release a turtle to reduce sea turtle injury and to promote post-release survival.
When Shute encounters a sea turtle at the end of one of his fishing lines, he brings the turtle close to the boat and uses a long de-hooker to remove the hook.
Shute prefers not to bring the animal on board his boat; it would not only be dangerous for his party, but also for the turtle.
“Turtles aren’t fast, but they have a good set of jaws on them and they can take a finger off quick enough,” Shute said.
Long-handled de-hookers can be used with internal and external hooks. These tools are designed to engage and secure the leader, allowing the hook to be secured within an offset loop without re-engaging the barb during hook removal.
In cases where Shute cannot remove the hook, he cuts the line as close to the hook as possible, and releases the sea turtle without injury to himself or the sea turtle.
Harms agrees that anglers should be very careful when dealing with sea turtles.
“Sea turtles are not overtly aggressive, but they won’t be happy about the situation, and they have the biting equipment to cause serious injury to fingers if you aren’t cautious,” Harms said.
Anglers who are not comfortable removing the hook can call the sea turtle stranding hot line at (252) 241-7367 to arrange transport of the turtle where the hook can be safely removed and any necessary follow-up care can be provided, Harms said. In the meantime, keep the turtle cool and moist while awaiting transport.
Anglers who are comfortable removing the hook should only do so if they can see most of the hook in the mouth or hanging out of the mouth, Harms said. Removing hooks from further back can badly damage the softer tissues of the esophagus if not done appropriately.
Anglers should use needle-nose pliers or a dehooker to keep your fingers safe, but also use a piece of PVC pipe or a wooden handle as a bite-block, because if the turtle bites down on the thin metal of the pliers or dehooker, it can damage its beak.
If the turtle is deep hooked, call the sea turtle stranding hot line at (252) 241-7367 to arrange transport to rehabilitation facility where the hook can be removed with the turtle under anesthesia.
In that case, anglers should not cut the line. Leave at least a few feet of line attached, coil it, and tape it to the top of the shell, Harms said. The line is very helpful point of attachment for hook removal later at the rehabilitation center.
If the turtle is deep hooked and landing the turtle is not possible, then the next best option is to cut the line as short as possible, Harms said. Hooks can pass through the gastrointestinal tract if the line is short enough that it cannot wrap around a flipper or bunch up in the gastrointestinal tract and the turtle stands a reasonable chance of surviving.
If an angler catches a sea turtle from a pier, he should land the turtle on the beach, Harms said. Anglers should not try to raise the turtle to the pier.
“Putting the full weight of the turtle on the hook and line will embed it very firmly and cause more damage than pulling it in laterally,” Harms said.
For more information on sea turtle release protocols from the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center, go to http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
