Releases July 4, 2013
Black sea bass south of Hatteras has recovered and is listed as Viable in the 2013 Stock Status Report released by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
A 2013 South Atlantic stock assessment found that the spawning stock has rebuilt and overfishing is not occurring.
“Black sea bass south of Cape Hatteras are extremely important to our commercial, recreational, and for hire fisheries,” said Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. “The results of the most recent assessment are encouraging and should provide increased opportunities for our fishermen.”
The black sea bass stock south of Cape Hatteras has been under a federally managed rebuilding plan since 2006. Last year, the stock status was upgraded to Recovering.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council increased quotas for the 2013-2014 fishing season for both recreational and commercial fisheries.
In another change, the division added sheepshead to the Stock Status Report and listed it as Unknown.
Until last year, sheepshead was managed under the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Plan, and was included in a 20-fish snapper-grouper recreational bag limit aggregate. When sheepshead was removed from the South Atlantic plan, management of the fishery was left up to the state. No state fishery management plan has been developed, but the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission has begun the process of adopting a rule that will allow the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries to manage the sheepshead fishery through proclamation. The earliest the rule could become effective is Feb. 1, 2014.
Additionally, the division deleted catfishes and perches from the Stock Status Report.
Division research on catfishes and perches began in March 2004 in an effort to compile data for a fishery management plan, but funding for this research was discontinued in March 2012. Catfishes and white perch were listed as Unknown in the 2012 Stock Status Report. Yellow perch was listed as Concern.
The division annually grades the status of marine finfish, shellfish, shrimp, and crabs as Viable, Recovering, Concern, Depleted, or Unknown. Criteria for these categories can be found online at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/stock-status-categories-and-definitions.
The grades serve as a barometer of the overall health of the state’s fishery resources, and they are used to prioritize development of fishery management plans.
The complete 2013 Stock Status Report can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/stock-status-reports.
For more information, contact Alan Bianchi in the division’s Morehead City headquarters office, at (252) 808-8092 or Alan.Bianchi@ncdenr.gov.
This week is National Lightning Safety Awareness Week, and NOAA’s National Weather Service has a stark message for fishermen and boaters: You are not safe outside during a thunderstorm. A new data review of deaths caused by lightning between 2006 and 2012 reveals that water-related activities (fishing, boating, beach, and swimming) make up 36 percent of all leisure-related deaths. Of the 152 lightning deaths that occurred while the victim was participating in a leisure activity, fishing tops the list at 26 deaths. Boating is high on the list at 14 deaths.
John Jensenius, a lightning safety specialist with the National Weather Service, said the large number of fishing and boating lightning deaths may occur because these activities require extra time to get to a safe place. “People often wait far too long to head to safety when a storm is approaching, and that puts them in a dangerous and potentially deadly situation,” he said.
Men make up 82 percent of lightning victims. The study offers possible explanations for this finding: males are unaware of all the dangers associated with lightning, are more likely to be in vulnerable situations, are unwilling to be inconvenienced by the threat of lightning, are in situations that make it difficult to get to a safe place in a timely manner, don’t react quickly to the lightning threat, or any combination of these explanations.
In short, because of their behavior, males are at a higher risk of being struck and, consequently, are struck and killed by lightning more often than females.
Lightning can strike from 10 miles away. Fishermen and boaters can best protect themselves against lightning injury or death by monitoring the weather and postponing outdoor activities when thunderstorms are in the forecast. If people can hear thunder, they are in danger of being struck by lightning. Remember the National Weather Service’s lightning safety motto: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has completed renovations to a popular coastal Boating Access Area in Carteret County, and it is now open to the public.
The Cedar Island Boating Access Area, on the Pamlico Sound, has been made completely accessible for boaters with disabilities. It includes two new boat ramps and fixed docks, and one new floating dock. The parking lot and access road have been paved, and include 17 trailered vehicle spots, and 5 single-vehicle spots.
“This site is popular for locals and draws tourists looking to access Pamlico Sound from across the state,” said Erik Christofferson, chief of the Commission’s Division of Engineering and Lands Management. “Cedar Island provides important access for coastal anglers, wildlife watchers, and recreational boaters, and these renovations are a wonderful enhancement to this beautiful site.”
The renovations were paid for with motorboat registration receipts and funds from the Sportfish Restoration Program. For information about boating in North Carolina, including an interactive map of more than 200 free, publicly accessible access areas, visit www.ncwildlife.org/boating.
The final rule to determine red snapper fishing seasons and harvest amounts for 2013 and subsequent years (Amendment 28) is currently under review. NOAA Fisheries will provide 30 days’ notice prior to potential commercial and recreational openings. Therefore, the opening of the commercial and recreational fishing seasons for red snapper will not occur in July 2013.
A fishery bulletin announcing the potential opening of red snapper in the South Atlantic will occur with the publication of the final rule for Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. Amendment 28 specifies the annual process to determine possible red snapper fishing seasons and harvest amounts.
More specifically, Amendment 28 would establish (1) a process to determine if a fishing season will occur each year, which would include specification of the allowable harvest and season length for the commercial and recreational sectors; (2) an equation to determine the annual catch limit amount for each sector; and (3) management measures if fishing is allowed.
The intent of Amendment 28 is to provide fishermen the opportunity to harvest the red snapper annual catch limit and enhance the social and economic benefits to the fishery.
More information, including Frequently Asked Questions for the 2013 red snapper fishing seasons can be found online at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/SASnapperGrouperHomepage.htm.
