Releases – August 19, 2010
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission kicked off work on a Beaufort County Boating Access Area during a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday morning, August 5.
The 6-acre site was donated by PotashCorp-Aurora. When complete, the Boating Access Area will have two boat-launch lanes and 30 parking spaces.
“We are grateful to PCS Phosphate for this generous donation,” said Erik Christofferson, chief of the Commission’s Division of Engineering Services. “When we receive a donation like this, it allows our operational funds for boating access to go further in providing the public with more opportunities for recreation on North Carolina’s waters.”
The groundbreaking was attended by personnel from Potash Corp-Aurora, along with Gordon Myers, executive director of the Commission, Commissioner Mitch St. Clair, and North Carolina Rep. Arthur Williams.
“On behalf of PotashCorp-Aurora, we’re committed to Eastern North Carolina and are pleased to be part of this event,” said Michelle Vaught, public affairs manager for PotashCorp-Aurora. “We believe this boat access area will be a tremendous asset to the citizens of this region.”
Construction is slated for completion in fall 2011.
For more information on boating in North Carolina, including an interactive map of free Boating Access Areas, visit www.ncwildlife.org/Boating_Waterways.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a public hearing Sept. 30 to receive comments on several proposed new rules.
The hearing will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Craven County Cooperative Extension office, 300 Industrial Dr., New Bern.
The proposed rules will:
(1) Reorganize the fisheries rulebook by removing repetitive or non-regulatory language in Subchapter 03H and relocating maps and marking regulations to Subchapter 03I;
(2) Define the terms “corkline,” “headrope” and “lead” referred to in other rules;
(3) Correct a cross-reference to a definition for coral and live rock (this will not change the definition);
(4) Clarify that only those holding a Recreational Commercial Gear License that use pots authorized by the license are required to mark their pots with hot pink buoys;
(5) Broaden the existing proclamation authority of the director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to maintain compliance with interstate regulations for horseshoe crabs;
(6) Add a definition for pectoral fin curved fork length and allow bluefin tuna to be measured this way for consistency with federal regulations for commercially-caught tunas;
(7) Allow for the head of a commercially-caught tuna to be removed at sea, making state rules consistent with federal regulations;
(8) Require ocean fishing piers to submit a monthly report of the daily head counts of anglers so that the state may maintain exemption to the National Angler Registry;
(9) Require shellfish culture training certification for new lease applicants and transferees, as required by state law;
(10) Remove the requirement to notarize signatures on fishing permit renewal applications;
(11) Classify Long Creek Gut and reclassify Eastham Creek as Primary Nursery Areas;
(12) Classify a portion of Chadwick Bay as a Special Secondary Nursery Area;
(13) Update the list of cross-references to no-trawling areas in Rule 03R .0106; and
(14) Codify an existing proclamation that protects a new coastal fishing reef/oyster sanctuary at Gibbs Shoal in Hyde County.
Full texts of the proposed rules were recently published in the N.C. Register and can be found online at www.oah.state.nc.us/rules/register/.
Written comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 15 and may be mailed to: Catherine Blum, Rules Coordinator, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557, faxed to (252) 726-0254, or e-mailed to Catherine.Blum@ncdenr.gov.
For more information, contact Blum at (252) 808-8013.
Contracting Parties to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), of which the U.S. is one, and other partners have embarked upon a $25 million research program on bluefin tuna, expected to span 6 years as a step toward improving ICCAT’s science based management approach for fisheries affecting bluefin.
The objective of the program is to provide a basis for advancing science-based fisheries management for Atlantic bluefin tuna. Such advancement will depend upon improvements in understanding of the fisheries harvesting and the biology of bluefin tuna, especially regarding the effects of mixing and movement between the eastern and western Atlantic stocks on monitoring stock abundance.
Two research funding opportunities administered through NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center, which represent a contribution to this partnership, are now available.
The first, with an application deadline of September 30, 2010, and which is for funding support based upon available funds in the current fiscal year (ending September 30, 2010), has been announced at www.fishwild.vt.edu/temp/bluefin_tuna_research.html.
The second, with an application deadline of September 14, 2010, and which is for funding support subject to availability of funds in the next fiscal year (October 1, 2010 – September 30, 2011), has been announced at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/grants/BTRP.htm.
Please note the different deadlines (the FY11 funding deadline is two weeks earlier than the deadline for current FY funding proposals), which is a start-up anomaly due to the requirements of the different administrative procedures being utilized to administer the program.
The House of Representatives passed HB 3534, The Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 (CLEAR) with 8 of the 13 NC Congressional Delegation voting for the bill. This bill includes full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million per year from offshore oil and gas leases. It also creates a new industry-funded endowment to protect our oceans and a restoration program to rehabilitate the Gulf of Mexico.
Now the companion bill, SB 3663, The Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act, is coming up in the Senate for a vote. The Senate bill also provides full and permanent funding for the LWCF at the $900 million mark each year for conservation projects at the national and state levels. Public lands for wildlife and water quality will be enhanced through these projects.
LWCF is included in this energy bill because it is funded by offshore oil and gas leases. The Fund is not a tax; it is a lease fee paid by private companies for the right to explore for oil reserves. The annual total of these leases averages around $7 billion, so $900 million is not an unreasonable amount to put back into conservation programs. This is a generational opportunity to secure funding for a strong conservation program from this appropriate source.
Contact your Senators and ask them to support SB 3663, which includes full and permanent funding for the LWCF. It takes 60 votes in the Senate to insure that this important legislation comes to the floor for a final vote. NC Senators are especially critical to the success of this bill, and this bill will be good for fish and wildlife resources in NC.
A new 13-week television show series aims to show an up-close view of the devastating impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Gulf of Mexico boating and fishing communities.
Airing Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) on Fox Sports Net and presented by BoatUS Angler, Cabela’s Fisherman’s Handbook portrays a realistic picture of conditions out in the field. Visits to bird recovery facilities, documenting the oil spill’s damage to sensitive marshes and bays, and most importantly, fishing trips on the large swaths of unaffected areas are all included.
Traveling to the region with show host and TV fishing personality Wade Middleton is Chris Edmonston of BoatUS, who presents segments on how to avoid and take care of oil spill damage to your boat, hurricane preparedness, and boating safety topics. “‘I have spent my entire life on the water, but you just can’t understand how important the water is to Gulf residents until you go down there,” said Edmonston. “The water is life to them.”
“This show doesn’t go into the politics,” said Middleton. “It tells the compelling stories of the anglers, guides, captains, boaters and many others whose lives have been irrevocably affected by the spill. We’ve traveled to four states and fished many spots, seeing first-hand how this region is coping.”
The show repeats Fridays at 4:00 p.m., but check your local listings to be sure.
