Releases – June 28, 2012
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold public meetings in July to receive comments on locations for three new inshore fishing reefs/oyster sanctuary sites.
The division’s Oyster Sanctuary Program has received a Coastal Recreational Fishing License grant to construct three inshore fishing reefs/oyster sanctuaries in the Cedar Island, Cape Fear River, and Manteo areas. The goal is to increase angling opportunities in North Carolina by creating and protecting sub-tidal oyster reefs with easy access for the recreational angler.
The reefs will be made with different types of concrete structures. These materials will attract oyster larvae, as well as clams, juvenile fish, crabs, and other marine organisms, which in turn, will attract larger fish, enhancing hook-and-line fishing.
The reefs will also serve as a brood stock for oysters. Harvest of oysters and the use of bottom disturbing gear are prohibited on the reefs. But the oysters that grow there will produce millions of eggs annually that will be carried by currents and tides to surrounding areas that are open to oyster harvest.
At each location, this project will construct a reef on 10 acres of soft bottom.
Interested parties are invited to attend the following meetings and provide advice and input regarding the placement of the reefs: (1) The meeting for the Cedar Island reef site is set for 6:00 p.m. on July 17 at the Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City; (2) The meeting for the Cape Fear River reef site is set for 6:00 p.m. on July 18 at the Division of Marine Fisheries Southern District Office, 127 Cardinal Drive, Wilmington; (3) The meeting for the Manteo reef site is set for 6:00 p.m. on July 24 at the Division of Marine Fisheries Field Office, 1021 Driftwood Drive, Manteo.
For more information, contact Pelle Holmlund, with the division’s Resource Enhancement Section, at (252) 808-8055 or Pelle.Holmlund@ncdenr.gov.
North Carolina researchers are encouraged to apply for regional funds to support lionfish control research. The proposals should focus on methods to control the spread of and/or reduce the impacts of lionfish in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s South Atlantic and Caribbean regions.
Lionfish can be found from Rhode Island to Belize. Off the North Carolina coast, their numbers have jumped from a few sightings in 2000 to becoming commonplace today. “Although not aggressive to humans, they have poisonous spines and present a danger to local fish populations, which they can eat or starve out,” says Steve Rebach, North Carolina Sea Grant associate director.
“Our knowledge of the life cycle of this recent invader is minimal,” Rebach adds. “The goal of this RFP is to learn more about their habitats in southeastern waters and how their growing populations may effectively be controlled.”
The RFP provides the option of conducting research in one of the two NOAA regions for up to $150,000 or encompassing both regions for up to $300,000 total for projects lasting two years. Proposals also will have to meet the requirements about the location of lead PIs and student involvement. Funding will begin Oct. 1, 2012, and is administered by Florida Sea Grant.
The deadline for applications is July 16, 2012, at 4:00 p.m., EST. For additional requirements and specific research priorities, view the RFP at: seagrant.ifas.ufl.edu/CallForProposals/proposalsubmission/lionfish/.
Direct questions to Karl Havens, Florida Sea Grant director, at khavens@ufl.edu; or to Maia McGuire, Florida Sea Grant aquatic invasive species specialist, at mpmcg@ufl.edu.
NOAA Fisheries Service has implemented a rebuilding plan for red grouper. The red grouper stock of the South Atlantic was assessed in 2010 through the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review Process. The assessment determined red grouper to be overfished (population too low) and undergoing overfishing (rate of fish removal too high).
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to implement a rebuilding plan within two years after notification of an overfished stock. Amendment 24 will implement a plan that has an 81 percent probability of rebuilding the stock in 10 years.
The final rule was published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2012, and is effective on July 11, 2012 (77 FR 34254).
Other actions in Amendment 24:
(1) Implementation of red grouper annual catch limits for the commercial and recreational sectors. The sector annual catch limits are based on the Council’s allocations of 44 percent commercial and 56 percent recreational:
2012 Commercial ACL 284,680 lbs.; 2013 Commercial ACL 315,920 lbs.; 2014 and subsequent years Commercial ACL 343,200 lbs.
2012 Recreational ACL 362,320 lbs.; 2013 Recreational ACL 402,080 lbs.; 2014 and subsequent years Recreational ACL 436,800 lbs.
(2) Specification of an annual catch target for the recreational sector.
(3) Implementation of red grouper accountability measures for the commercial and recreational sectors. Accountability measures are management controls to prevent annual catch limits from being exceeded and to correct overages of the catch limits if they are exceeded. The accountability measures will close each sector when the sector annual catch limit is projected to be met. If a sector annual catch limit is exceeded, the Regional Administrator will publish a notice to reduce the sector annual catch limits in the following season by the amount of the overage.
(4) Elimination of the commercial and recreational aggregate annual catch limits and accountability measures for black grouper, gag, and red grouper.
(5) Revision of the following management benchmarks for red grouper: Maximum sustainable yield; optimum yield; and minimum stock size threshold.
More information, including Frequently Asked Questions for Amendment 24, can be found online at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted last week to deny consideration of a request for declaratory ruling regarding a proclamation related to menhaden purse seine fishing.
Omega Protein, a menhaden processing company in Reedville, VA, filed the request on May 31, challenging the validity of a proclamation prohibiting the use of purse seines deployed from a mother ship for the harvest of menhaden in state waters.
The commission voted for this management measure at its May meeting, and N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel implemented the regulation by proclamation.
Omega Protein has the option to seek judicial review from the courts.
A purse seine is a type of net that is used to encircle a school of fish then trap the fish when it is closed with a line passing through rings, like a drawstring.
Audio of this meeting can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/june-2012-mfc-business-meeting.
The commercial harvest of the jacks complex in the South Atlantic federal waters is closed, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) July 2, 2012, until 12:01 a.m. (local time) January 1, 2013. NOAA Fisheries Service has determined the 2012 commercial annual catch limit of 193,999 pounds for the jacks complex will have been reached by this date.
The jacks complex is comprised of the following species: almaco jack; banded rudderfish; and lesser amberjack.
During the closure, all harvest or possession of almaco jack, banded rudderfish, and lesser amberjack in or from South Atlantic federal waters is restricted to the bag and possession limits and the sale or purchase of such fish is prohibited. In addition, a person on board a vessel for which a federal commercial permit for the South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Fishery has been issued, is restricted to the bag and possession limits.
Sale or purchase of such fish is prohibited during the closure for the jacks complex and would apply regardless of whether the fish are harvested in state or federal waters.
Closure of the commercial sector for the jacks complex in the South Atlantic complies with regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region and is necessary to protect the snapper-grouper resource.
The operator of a vessel with almaco jack, banded rudderfish, and lesser amberjack in excess of the bag or possession limits aboard must have landed such species prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, July 2, 2012, and all sale or purchase of such fish must occur prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, July 2, 2012. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to sale or purchase of almaco jack, banded rudderfish, and lesser amberjack that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, July 2, 2012, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
This bulletin provides only a summary of the information regarding the existing regulations. Any discrepancies between this bulletin and the regulations as published in the Federal Register will be resolved in favor of the Federal Register.
