Releases – March 7, 2013
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open the entire Roanoke River Management Area to striped bass harvest from March 1 through April 30. The Roanoke River Management Area includes the Roanoke River and tributaries from Roanoke Rapids Lake Dam downstream to Albemarle Sound, including the Cashie, Middle, and Eastmost rivers.
The daily creel limit within the Roanoke River Management Area is two striped bass per angler. The minimum length limit is 18 inches, and no striped bass between 22 and 27 inches can be possessed at any time. Only one striped bass larger than 27 inches can be included in the daily creel limit.
Anglers are required to use a single barbless hook or a lure with a single barbless hook when fishing in the upper Roanoke River from April 1 through June 30. The upper Roanoke River is defined as the main river channel and all tributaries, upstream from the U.S. Highway 258 Bridge near Scotland Neck to Roanoke Rapids Lake Dam.
From early March until the end of May, the Commission will post online weekly fishing reports from the Roanoke River every Thursday afternoon. The fishing reports, along with other updated information on striped bass fishing and boating access areas, will be posted on the Commission’s fishing page.
For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, call the agency’s Division of Inland Fisheries at (919) 707-0220.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified two new state record catches, one for scamp and the other for gag grouper.
Toby Grantham, of Knightdale, caught the 27.6-pound scamp while fishing off Atlantic Beach Sept. 25. The fish measured 40 inches in total length and had a 26.25-inch girth.
Grantham caught the fish with a Shimano Stella 8000SWPG reel and Black Hole Cape Cod Special 54S 250g rod, using a Blue Water Candy Roscoe Jig on 50-pound line test.
North Carolina previously did not have a state record scamp. To establish a state record fish, the angler must submit an application that is reviewed by Division of Marine Fisheries staff and a N.C. Saltwater Fishing Tournament Advisory Board. The fish must be exceptionally large for North Carolina waters and within a reasonable range of the world record.
The world record scamp weighed 29 pounds, 10 ounces and was caught off the coast of Alabama in 2000.
Timothy Gallimore, of Ocean Isle Beach, set the state record for gag grouper with a 46-pound fish he caught May 1, 2011, on live bottom in 200 feet of water southeast of Ocean Isle Beach.
The fish measured 44 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail and had a 28.5-inch girth.
Gallimore used live pinfish for bait on 80-pound braid line test with a Shimano TLD 25 reel on a Penn Standup rod.
Gallimore’s gag grouper was caught previous to and replaces the record 43-pound, 8-ounce fish caught May 12, 2012, off Morehead City.
The world record gag grouper weighed 80 pounds, 6 ounces and was caught off the Florida coast in 1993.
For more information, contact Carole Willis, division sportfishing specialist, at (252) 808-8081 or carole.y.willis@ncdenr.gov.
For many years, the sportfishing industry has called for a reexamination of the outdated and inequitable allocations of many marine fisheries that are limiting recreational fishing participation which has an economic impact on the coastal communities it supports. The report released earlier this year by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) — “Marine Fishery Allocation Issues: Findings, Discussion, and Options” — summarizes how saltwater fisheries have historically been apportioned between recreational and commercial fishing and provides options on how to improve the allocation process.
“Allocation has been the 800 pound gorilla in the room during fisheries management discussions; however, we’re hopeful that this new report will help spark a renewed interest in revisiting these issues,” said American Sportfishing Association (ASA) President and CEO Mike Nussman. “Many biological and socioeconomic changes have taken place in saltwater fisheries, from rebuilding fish stocks to more people fishing in saltwater. We appreciate that NMFS has started the important process of revisiting current allocations, many of which are based on decades-old criteria.”
In fisheries with both a recreational and commercial component, fisheries managers are required to allocate a percentage of the harvestable fish to each sector in a manner that is “fair and equitable,” as described in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Many recreational anglers believe that these fixed percentages are highly subjective and favor the commercial sector.
For example, despite studies that show the economic benefits of shifting a greater proportion of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery to the recreational sector, approximately 300 commercial boats take 51 percent of the total harvest every year, while hundreds of thousands of recreational anglers are allocated the remaining 49 percent.
“Clearly the current piecemeal approach hasn’t worked and has left many anglers and industry members frustrated by the level of inaction,” said Nussman. “This report provides valuable insights and suggestions that NMFS and the Regional Fishery Management Councils should act upon, including the need for formalized guidance on issues to consider when making allocation decisions. This must be the next step, and NMFS must take the lead, working with Councils and stakeholders, to develop this guidance.”
Nussman concluded, “Allocation decisions are inherently difficult, but we can no longer allow that to be an excuse to keep outdated allocations in place. There are too many jobs at stake to continue down the path of inaction.”
Board members of the Got-Em-On Live Bait Club recently presented the Cape Fear Community College Foundation with a $5,000 donation to begin funding an endowed scholarship for Marine Technology students at CFCC. The donation was funded by proceeds from the club’s 15th annual golf tournament held in December at the Echo Farms Golf Club.
Once fully funded, the Got-Em-On Live Bait Club Endowed Scholarship will provide financial support to marine technology students at CFCC, with preference given to graduates of the South Brunswick High School Mose Lewis Aquaculture Facility.
The Got-Em-On Live Bait Club was formed in 1979 by a small group of tournament-winning live-bait fishermen. This group of competitive friends would announce their catches with a spirited cry of “Got ’em on!” over their CB radios. The club was incorporated with 17 members in 1981, and today the membership consists of approximately 300 families. The club hosts several annual king mackerel tournaments, numerous club socials, and activities.
Got-Em-On is also a philanthropic non-profit organization and has supported numerous charitable and educational organizations in the region. Previously, the club has donated proceeds from its annual golf tournament to a UNCW graduate fellowship in marine biology, which has been fully funded with over $70,000.
The Army Corps of Engineers is managing an Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) Inlet Crossing Maintenance Dredging Contract that will began work on Friday, February 22, 2013. Carolina Beach Inlet crossing and parts of Snow’s Cut are included in this work package. The beach compatible material is scheduled to be placed on the north end of Freeman Beach. The project is anticipated to last 4-5 weeks.
Freeman Park will remain open; however, the Carolina Beach Police Department advises people to use caution and stay away from the piping and construction areas in the interest of public safety. Entering posted beach areas can be very dangerous due to the heavy equipment and spoils being pumped on the shoreline.
A floating and submerged pipeline will run along the AICW channel to the Carolina Beach Disposal Area. Mariners are cautioned to stay clear of dredge, booster, floating (pontoon) and submerged pipelines, barges, derricks, and operating wires associated with dredging and marine construction operations. Operators of vessels of all types should be aware that dredges and floating pipelines are held in place by cables, attached to anchors some distance away from the equipment.
Dredging projects are usually conducted twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. A NO WAKE transit is requested of all vessels passing the dredge, and if necessary to clarify a SAFE PASSAGE, contact the dredge on the appropriate VHF-FM channels 13 or 16.
