Releases – November 12, 2015
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Nov. 18-20 at Jennette’s Pier, 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head.
Public comment periods will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 18 and 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 19. The chairman will allow each speaker to comment for three minutes. Due to time constraints, those making comments will be asked to speak only once, either at the Nov. 18 or Nov. 19 session, but not during both public comment periods.
The business meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. on Nov. 19 and 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 20.
People who wish to give handouts to the commission during the public comment periods should bring at least 12 copies of the handout.
The public may listen to the meeting on the Internet. Up to 200 participants may listen to audio and view presentations in real-time on a first-come, first-served basis. Directions for participating in the webcast, including information on system requirements and testing, can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/listen-online.
The commission is scheduled to select and approve management measures for Supplement A to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 1. This action was postponed from its August business meeting. The commission previously took six potential management proposals out for public review that range in impacts to different fisheries and fishing gears, such as gill nets, pound nets, and gigs. The supplement and the proposals can be found at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/southern-flounder-current-topic.
The commission is also scheduled to: (1) Discuss criteria for the Standard Commercial Fishing License. Many criteria are set in law and need legislative approval for change; (2) Give final approval to an amendment to the Striped Mullet Fishery Management Plan and associated rules; (3) Receive a presentation on amendments to the Oyster and Hard Clam fishery management plans and vote to send the plans out for public review; (4) Give final approval to information updates for the Interjurisdictional and Kingfish fishery management plans; and (5) Receive a presentation on an update to the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan and vote to send the plan out for public review.
A meeting agenda and a full briefing book can be found at:Â http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/mfc-meetings.
For more information, contact Marine Fisheries Commission Liaison Nancy Fish at (252) 808-8021 or Nancy.Fish@ncdenr.gov.
Fisheries released the Fisheries of the U.S. Report for 2014 today.
Each year, we compile key fisheries statistics from the previous year into an annual snapshot documenting fishing’s importance to the nation. Inside the 2014 report, you’ll find landings totals for both domestic commercial and recreational fishing by species. This information allows us to track important indicators such as annual seafood consumption and the productivity of top fishing ports.
Here are a few highlights from the report: (1) 0.4 million anglers took 68 million trips in 2014; (2) These recreational anglers caught 392 million fish, and released sixty percent of those caught; (3) The total harvest was estimated at 155 million fish weighing 186 million pounds; and (4) The top five U.S. species ranked by pounds landed were striped bass, bluefish, yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi, and summer flounder.
We have also posted Fisheries Economics of the United States for 2013. The report highlights the positive far-reaching economic impact of the seafood and recreational fisheries industries on the U.S. economy. The 2014 version of Fisheries Economics of the United States will be released within the next few months.
Fisheries of the United States 2014 and Fisheries Economics of the United States 2013 are available on our website.
The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina sent a heated letter to Sammy Corbett of Wilmington, Chairman of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, for his refusal to call a special commission meeting that would consider an emergency plan to reduce overfishing of Southern flounder.
Besides breaking a promise to act by September 16, CCA NC President Bud Abbott indicated Corbett is selfishly favoring commercial fishermen who might face immediate harvest reductions if a special meeting of the Commission occurs before the end of the fall flounder season. Instead, the MFC Chairman wrote the eight other commissioners that the flounder issue will be first on the agenda for the Commission’s normally scheduled meeting Nov. 19-20 in Nags Head.
The MFC was scheduled to discuss measures at its August 21 meeting that would have drastically reduced the fall commercial harvest of flounder since a census shows the fishery is on the verge of collapse despite a 20-year effort to rebuild it. Corbett took the issue off the agenda after state Rep. Bob Steinburg (R-Edenton) presented a letter signed by 13 eastern legislators threatening reprisals if the Commission adopted a supplemental plan without further study. Also, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Dr. Donald R. Van der Vaart sent his own letter to the Commission urging it to act cautiously.
At the time, Corbett set September 16 as the date for a special meeting but postponed that later saying he got no guidance on the supplement issue from Van der Vaart. Four commissioners requested a special meeting take place later in September or early October but Corbett said last Wednesday he wants all nine commissioners present for the discussion, not just a legal quorum. The other commissioners who represent commercial interests had conflicts on all four of the dates suggested by the board members who don’t want to delay action.
The CCA NC letter argued against the Chairman’s desire to have all nine commissioners present before any action on Southern flounder is taken. “I remind you that there is no statutory requirement for all nine commissioners to be present for the Commission to transact business, nor is it reasonable to impose such a requirement based on personal whim,” Abbott wrote.
Abbott also pointed out to Corbett that Secretary Van der Vaart has not rescinded his permission for the MFC to pursue a supplemental plan despite the Chairman’s claims to the contrary. Abbott told Corbett that he illegally removed the supplement issue from the agenda at the August meeting without notice, a proper motion, second and vote by the board. “This is not your commission, but a Governor-appointed body that includes diverse interests, tasked with the duty to safeguard and manage public fisheries resources for all of the citizens of North Carolina,” Abbott wrote.
In a separate letter to Secretary Van der Vaart, CCA NC Governmental Relations Chairman Keith Johnson wrote that it is difficult to convey the frustration created by Corbett’s decision not to call a special meeting. “If the MFC waits until its next regularly scheduled meeting in November, the opportunity to achieve any harvest reductions this fall, which was the stated goal when the supplement process was started in February, will be totally lost,” Johnson said.
He called Corbett’s decision to block a special meeting “very bad judgment” and “an abuse of discretion” afforded the Chairman in what should be an “open, transparent process.”
Johnson said CCA NC is troubled by Corbett’s assertion that lack of guidance from Van der Vaart’s office was one reason he didn’t call the meeting. “Your commitment to the supplement process has been made very clear,” Johnson wrote, saying the Secretary’s office has acknowledged the need for some sort of Southern flounder harvest reduction this fall.
The letter closed by asking the Secretary to tell Chairman Corbett to “stop impeding the process” and call a special meeting as soon as practical. On the other hand, CCA NC President Abbott told Corbett his actions “have alienated so many commissioners that your ability to lead them in their duty to protect our marine resources is called into question.”
If Corbett is unwilling to move forward on the Southern flounder debate, then he should recuse himself from the issue and turn it over to the Commission Vice-Chairman to call a special meeting, Abbott concluded.
