Releases – May 29, 2014
David Sneed, an East Carolina CCA Chapter veteran, was named Executive Director of CCA-NC at the board’s April 15 meeting, Chairman Greg Hurt announced.
A 1987 N.C. State graduate, Sneed has worked the last 15 years in the construction industry, most recently as a project manager supervising multi-million dollar jobs. “I believe my experience in planning and scheduling construction projects would translate directly into the successful management of the CCA-NC state office and the success of statewide fundraising events,” Sneed told the search committee during the interview process.
Sneed’s management expertise is proven, but it was his passion for conserving coastal resources that impressed the search committee. During the interview, David recalled how he often told his children about the need to protect coastal waters and their inhabitants for future generations.
“ ‘Well, Dad, why don’t you do something about it,’ ” he said, telling how his children prodded him to make a difference. As a result, he and his family started Brackish Water Outfitters, a marketing brand closely identified with the southern, coastal lifestyle and dedicated to preserving coastal resources for future generations.
On his website, thebrackishlife.com, three simple concepts—celebrate, educate, and preserve—have become The Brackish Life focus, the homepage reads. “As we live by our mantra, ‘Enjoy Life Simply,’ we also want to do our part to be responsible stewards of our coastal waters,” it further states.
It was this passion that first led Sneed to CCA’s East Carolina Chapter years ago while living in Greenville and spending weekends fishing or hunting. He has been an active volunteer in staging the highly successful East Carolina annual fundraising banquet, search committee chairman Billy Byrd said.
His effort to make a difference is not just limited to endeavors related to personal recreation. Sneed was a founding board member and two-term president of the Pitt-Greenville Habitat for Humanity. He also served as president and assistant district governor of Greenville’s Noon Rotary Club. Teaching kids, which complements one of CCA-NC’s goals, David helped coach his son’s Little League baseball team to a Greenville City Championship.
In his statement to the search committee, Sneed said, “My vision for the executive director’s role would be to take my passion and the organization’s message to the public in a renewed grassroots effort. Getting our message to more people who share this love of recreational fishing and coastal living will increase our success at local fundraising events and build our influence in Raleigh.”
The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort will be hosting a series of free public presentations from June 9-14, 2014 (during the week of the Big Rock Tournament). These lectures are being offered in conjunction with the opening of a new sportfishing exhibit that will be located in the Museum lobby. The exhibit will have species identifications, historic photos of recreational fishing in North Carolina, a fishing simulator game, and information about the history of sportfishing in the Tar Heel state.
The schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, June 10, at 2:00 pm is “Fishing on the Pamlico, Neuse and Pungo Rivers” with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Wednesday, June 11, at 2:00 pm is “Red Drum and Flounder on the White Oak River Basin” with Capt. Rob Koraly of Sandbar Safari Guide Service.
Thursday, June 12, at 2:00 pm is “Red Drum in North Carolina” with Capt. Gary Dubiel of Spec Fever Guide Service.
Friday, June 13, at 2:00 pm is “Inshore Fishing around Beaufort Inlet” with NC Aquariums Natural Science Curator Jeff McBane.
Saturday, June 14, at 2:00 pm is “Near-shore Flounder Fishing” with Capt. Jeff Cronk of Fish’n 4 Life Charters.
For more information, you can contact Ben Wunderly, Associate Museum Curator at the NC Maritime Museum, at (252) 728-7317 x30.
The state’s commercial fishing harvest continued in a three-year decreasing trend in 2013; while the dockside value of that harvest increased for the third straight year.
Commercial fishermen sold 50 million pounds of fish and shellfish at North Carolina docks in 2013, a 12 percent decrease from 2012 and 21 percent less than the five-year average, according to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Trip Ticket Program. However, the dockside value of the catch rose to $79 million, 9 percent higher than in 2012 and 4 percent higher than the five-year average.
Recreational fishing harvest increased from 2012, but remained about the same as the five-year average and was about 47 percent below what it was 10 years ago.
Recreational fishermen landed approximately 11.6 million fish, weighing about 13.3 million pounds in 2013, a 10 percent increase in pounds over 2012, according to the division’s Coastal Angling Program.
Hard blue crabs continued to top the list of the state’s commercial fishing species, both in pounds harvested and in dockside value. Commercial fishermen landed 21 million pounds of hard blue crabs in 2013, an 18 percent decrease from 2012 and 21 percent lower than the five-year average. But the dockside value of hard blue crabs increased 31 percent to $26.4 million in 2013.
Shrimp remained in the No. 2 spot with landings of 4.9 million pounds and a dockside value of $13 million, followed by spiny dogfish (3 million pounds and $302,248), southern flounder (2.2 million pounds and $5.6 million), and Atlantic croaker (1.9 million pounds and $1.7 million).
Commercial finfish landings were at 22 million pounds in 2013, a 3 percent drop from 2012 and 21 percent lower than the five-year average.
Atlantic croaker landings in large-mesh gill nets were down by 1.2 million pounds, adding to a 38 percent reduction in the fishery from 2012. Summer flounder landings dropped by 50 percent in 2013 due to a drop in flounder trawl landings, likely attributable to navigation issues at Oregon Inlet.
Bluefish landings increased by 53 percent due to increased landings in large- and small-mesh gill nets in the ocean.
Shellfish landings were at 28 million pounds, 17 percent lower than in 2012 and 20 percent below the five-year average. Much of the drop was attributable to the decrease in blue crab and shrimp landings.
Oyster harvests increased by 33 percent, including a notable increase in landings from the Pamlico Sound.
Yellowfin tuna topped the list of recreationally-harvested fish. Anglers reeled in 2 million pounds of yellowfin tuna (62,110 fish) in 2013, a 28 percent increase from 2012.
Dolphin came in second with 2 million pounds (248,987 fish), followed by bluefish at 971,279 pounds (1.2 million fish), red drum, 682,964 pounds (166,608 fish), and spotted seatrout, 652,102 pounds (369,500).
The recreational red drum harvest was the highest on record in 2013 and was a 187 percent increase in pounds landed from 2012.
Recreational spot landings doubled to 462,884 pounds (1.5 million fish) in 2013, but still remained well below historic harvest levels.
Sheepshead harvest increased by 70 percent to 497,616 pounds (272,709 fish), and southern flounder harvest increased 37 percent to 408,642 pounds (177,742 fish).
The number of fish that anglers released back into the water grew to about 21 million in 2013, about a 13 percent increase over 2012.
Recreational harvest trends are closely related to recreational effort. The number of recreational fishing trips in 2013 dropped by 6 percent to about 5 million. This was a 4 percent decrease from the five-year average, and about 28 percent fewer trips than 10 years ago.
For a full landings report, click on the 2013 Annual Fisheries Bulletin link at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/marine-fisheries-catch-statistics.
For more information, contact division License and Statistics Section Chief Don Hesselman at (252) 808-8099 or Don.Hesselman@ncdenr.gov.
