Releases – August 11, 2011
In a time of shrinking academic budgets, resourceful educators are coming up with new ways to fund special programs. The Flounder Hatchery at South Brunswick High School is partnering with the school’s Dance Team to put on the Class Acts Golf Tournament in order to raise the necessary capital to continue the programs without cuts.
The tournament will be September 24 at the Members’ Club of St. James Plantation. Registration begins at 9:30 am the morning of the event, with a shotgun start at 11:00. A raffle, mulligans, live and silent auction, and cocktail hour and dinner are planned to enable the even to raise even more money.
The week before the golf tournament, the South Brunswick High hatchery is partnering with NC State and several other organizations to release thousands of juvenile flounder into Oak Island’s David Creek, an annual operation.
“We feel that stock enhancement is an underutilized management tool in NC,” South Brunswick Aquaculture Instructor Byron Bey explains. “It’s a tool other than regulation that can help with fish populations that are struggling.”
Bey is lobbying for the creation of a state hatchery program for North Carolina and is part of laying the groundwork for this state hatchery program with the research and development his students are working on. If the South Brunswick High Flounder Hatchery loses funding, it’s very much a step backwards in that process, hence the creation of the golf tournament.
The tournament is capped at 48 teams of four, and a waiting list will be established once the quota is reached.
For additional information about the Flounder Hatchery or the Class Acts Golf Tournament, contact Byron Bey at (910) 477-0078 or bey@bcswan.net.
The National Park Service has completed its study and review of off-road vehicle use on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Proposed rules coming from this review are posted on-line for public review and comment on the federal government’s website for regulations. The link is included for your convenience below:
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;dct=FR+PR+N+O+SR;rpp=10;po=0;D=NPS-2011-0005
When you click on this link, you will go to the website set up for public review and comments on the Cape Hatteras ORV Rule. After you enter the website for the Cape Hatteras ORV Rule, you can view the posting in the Federal Register dated July 6, 2011, by clicking on the link titled: Special Regulations, Areas of National Park System: Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
This will take you to the text of the Federal Register where you will click on PDF to see the posting (PDF is the clearest format for reading).
Here you can find information about the proposal including a summary, supporting information, and an explanation of many of the questions that arose about the proposal during the EIS review. Also included is the actual rule with definitions, open ORV routes, seasonal routes, hours of operation, permit requirements, and specific information about Ocracoke, Hatteras, and Bodie Island access points and approved ORV routes.
After you finish reading about the proposed rule, close the PDF page and you will return to the original page where you can access the public comment procedure. Do this by clicking on the link labeled “Submit a Comment.” You will go to the site where you can write, review, and send your comments on the proposal after you provide some basic information identifying yourself.
The comment section allows you to enter 2,000 characters. You have 20 minutes to complete your comments or you will have to extend your time.
This proposal has been an item of contentious debate over the past few years. Now is the time for final input on the proposed final rule. Take advantage of the opportunity.
The Seacoast Anglers Association will meet Monday, August 15, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. at the VFW Post 10804, RT 57 & RT 9, Little River SC.
The guest speaker for this month’s meeting will be Capt. Jerry Dilsaver. He will talk about cast nets and chumming for different types of fish.
The food offered by the kitchen at VFW will be a fried flounder basket for $4.00.
Come early at 5:30 and have dinner with the club and talk fishing.
Guests and prospective members are always welcome. For more information, you can call Gary Whiteleather at (703) 303-5632.
NOAA recently announced quotas and other measures for bluefin tuna that underscore the nation’s commitment to sustainable science-based management of this vital fish stock. The allocations divide the available 2011 U.S. bluefin tuna quota of 957 metric tons among commercial and recreational fishing sectors for the fishing season that began on June 1.
“The best way to ensure the long-term sustainability of bluefin tuna is through international cooperation and strong domestic fishery management,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “Today’s domestic quotas provide allocations to U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen who target bluefin tuna. At the same time, the quotas ensure that longline fishermen can continue to operate while they will take additional steps to minimize their unintended catch of bluefin.”
In addition, NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced it would begin a review of domestic bluefin tuna management to address allocation issues, discards of dead bluefin tuna, and the best ways to reduce unintended catch of bluefin tuna.
The total U.S. quota was set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November, the international body made up of 47 nations and the European Union that manages this highly migratory species. Each of the member nations divides its national quota among its domestic users. The U.S. has been a leader at ICCAT in promoting quotas based on science and in urging the adoption of strong measures to help with the recovery of bluefin tuna and other fisheries.
The General category, which includes commercial fishermen who use rod and reel, will receive 435 metric tons, nearly half the 2011 U.S. quota. Allocations for the other categories are as follows: Angling category (which includes recreational fishermen), 182 metric tons; purse seine fishermen, 171.8 metric tons; longline fishermen, 61 metric tons; harpoon fishermen, 36 metric tons; trap fishermen, 0.9 metric tons; and a reserve of 70.6 metric tons. The reserve is set aside for scientific research and to account for landings and dead discards.
The allocations account for potential discards of unintentionally caught bluefin tuna. Bluefin tuna are primarily discarded by longline fishermen who are targeting swordfish and other tunas. Although fishermen attempt to release fish alive, many discarded fish do not survive. The longline fishery was the only sector to receive reductions in its base quota to account for dead discards in advance of them actually being caught. Data from the 2010 fishing season was used to estimate the discard amount.
“We are working closely with longline fishermen to reduce the amount of bluefin tuna that they catch unintentionally,” said Schwaab. “This spring, we began requiring longline fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico to use weak hooks to reduce the unintended bluefin catch while still allowing them to catch swordfish and yellowfin tuna.”
The weak hook, a circular hook constructed of thin gauge wire, is designed to straighten when a large fish such as bluefin tuna is hooked, releasing it but holding on to smaller, lighter fish.
After extensive scientific review, NOAA announced on May 27 that the Atlantic bluefin tuna currently do not warrant species protection under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA also committed to revisit this decision by early 2013, when more scientific information will be available. NOAA has also formally designated Atlantic bluefin tuna as a “species of concern” under the Endangered Species Act, placing the species on a watchlist for concerns about its status and threats to the species.
