Releases – September 2, 2010
Cape Fear Community College is pleased to announce the Capt. Richie Spears Memorial Scholarship Fund, established by family and friends in memory of CFCC graduate Richie Spears. Richie lost a valiant battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in June of 2008 at the age of 29.
The scholarship will be awarded annually to a CFCC Marine Technology student who shows interest in boat handling, seamanship, and navigation. The scholarship will help deserving students reach their goal of working in a marine-related profession.
“We are so very thankful that our friends and family members have given so generously to a program that will help others achieve success in a field that Richie so loved. We are very grateful that the Captain Richie Spears Memorial Endowed Scholarship will live on in honor and memory of such a fine waterman,” Mrs. Spears said.
For more information about CFCC, the Foundation, endowments, or scholarship opportunities, please contact the CFCC Foundation at (910) 362-7207.
The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is now taking reservations for the annual Surf Fishing Workshop to be held Oct. 8-10.
Expert instruction and hands-on practice cover rods, reels, weights, line, tackle, knots, bait, fish identification, catch and release, cast netting, reading the surf, locating fish from the beach, and caring for your catch.
This comprehensive course provides a great beginning for novice fishermen and a thorough refresher for all skill levels.
The cost is $150 per person, with a 10 percent discount for North Carolina Aquarium Society members. Sessions begin Friday evening. The course culminates with a Sunday fishing trip to Cape Lookout National Seashore. Ferry transportation is included in the course fee.
Space is limited and advance registration is required. Call the Aquarium at (252) 247-4003 or see the Pine Knoll Shores section of www.ncaquariums.com for details.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that U.S. shrimp producers in the Gulf and South Atlantic States are eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers and Fishermen Program benefits.
To be eligible to receive TAA training and financial benefits, North Carolina shrimp producers must apply at their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office by Sept. 23, 2010.
“North Carolina Sea Grant is not administering the federal program, but will be assisting with the development and delivery of training workshops after the sign-up period,” notes Scott Baker, Sea Grant’s fisheries specialist.
“Workshop topics likely will include onboard handling and quality control, basics of direct marketing, cost-efficient gear technology, and how to develop a simple business plan,” Baker adds. “Not only is there a financial incentive to complete the training requirement, but the topics covered in the workshops are relevant to the industry.
TAA focuses on providing training to producers of eligible commodities who are affected by import competition. It also provides assistance in developing a business plan and up to $12,000 in payments to help implement the business plan and the lessons learned from the training workshops.
This particular assistance program is directly tied to the 2008 marketing year. North Carolina commercial fishing license holders who caught or harvested shrimp in 2008 will receive a letter the week of Aug. 16, 2010, from the TAA Southern Region Management and Education Center based in Little Rock, Arkansas. This letter will describe the assistance program and how to apply. Any training associated with the program will occur in North Carolina and/or online.
For more information about the TAA program, visit www.taaforfarmers.org. A statewide listing of FSA offices can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov.
North Carolina Sea Grant is now accepting applications for its 2010-11 Science Communications Fellowship.
The program provides professional training and experience in sharing scientific information developed through research projects and outreach efforts funded by North Carolina Sea Grant, as well as the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant and Blue Crab and Shellfish Research programs. The fellow will work with the Sea Grant communications and extension professionals, and various investigators and community partners to present timely information in a variety of formats.
Products may include, but not be limited to: abstracts for print and online formats; news releases for general media and trade press; stories in Coastwatch magazine and Sea Grant newsletters; “how to” publications known as blueprints; longer documents, such as manuals; online content; and scripts for broadcast products. The fellow may also work with investigators to edit scientific articles presented to academic journals.
A set schedule of hours in the North Carolina Sea Grant headquarters in Raleigh—no more than 40 hours per week starting in Autumn 2010—will be determined once the fellow has been selected.
This fellowship is open to graduate students enrolled in North Carolina universities at the time of application, as well as those who have graduated in 2009 or 2010. Students earning degrees from North Carolina universities are eligible, as are North Carolina residents who earned graduate degrees elsewhere.
The fellow’s compensation will be based on factors such as the weekly schedule. Some travel to the North Carolina coast and to at least one regional or national meeting is anticipated. Sea Grant has extension offices in Manteo, Morehead City, and Wilmington.
The ideal fellow must demonstrate the ability to understand complex scientific data and summarize those results into terms understandable to the general public. Applicants must submit: a statement of goals, with emphasis on what he or she expects from—and can contribute to—the fellowship experience; resume or vitae; two writing samples: one for a general audience, and one for a technical or otherwise targeted audience; two letters of reference, one of which is from a major professor; and copy of university transcripts, along with confirmation that official transcripts have been requested.
Applications should be sent to Katie Mosher, North Carolina Sea Grant, NCSU Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. Or all the materials may be sent in a single .pdf to katie_mosher@ncsu.edu.
If you have questions, contact Mosher at (919) 515-9069. Review of applications will begin Sept. 8, 2010, and will continue until the position is filled.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will reopen Core Sound to large-mesh gill net fishing Sept. 1 under restrictions to protect sea turtles.
The Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area will operate Sept. 1 through Sept. 17 under the same protective measures. Other waters of Pamlico Sound will close to large-mesh gill net fishing Sept. 1 under a federal closure, as has been the case since 2001.
Division Director Louis Daniel implemented the measures for the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area today by Proclamation M-15-2010. The proclamation, a map of the area, and regulations for Core Sound can be found online at www.ncfisheries.net.
The regulations require fishermen who set large-mesh gill nets (4-inch to 6.5-inch stretch mesh) to use low-profile nets of no more than 15 meshes in height under certain provisions:
Fishermen must obtain a permit from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to fish in the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area. They must allow onboard fisheries observers, and make weekly reports to the Division of Marine Fisheries.
Those fishing in the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area also must report any interactions with sea turtles to the division.
“Fishermen need to understand the importance of complying with this portion of the permit requirements,” Daniel said. “These reports help validate the observer information, and they help the division identify hot spots that could be closed to allow the rest of the fishery to remain open.”
Daniel intends to issue a proclamation later, effective Sept. 20, to allow large-mesh gill net fishing in the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area under the same gear restrictions as last year, which are provided in a federal incidental take permit issued under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (Section 10 permit).
The decision to wait until Sept. 20 to implement the measures in the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area Incidental Take Permit was made in an attempt to maximize the harvest of southern flounder from the large-mesh gill net fishery while avoiding interactions with sea turtles.
Core Sound, which is not covered by the incidental take permit, will close to large-mesh gill net fishing if a high number of sea turtle interactions occur.
The Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area will close to large-mesh gill net fishing on Nov. 30, but will close prior to Nov. 30 if the allowable number of sea turtle interactions as authorized by incidental take permit is met.
All of Pamlico Sound will reopen Jan. 1 to large-mesh gill net fishing.
All other internal coastal waters of the state remain under the current regulations for large-mesh gill nets, which can be found online at www.ncfisheries.net.
For more information, please contact David Taylor, division Fisheries Management Section chief, at (252) 808-8074 or (800) 682-2632 or David.L.Taylor@ncdenr.gov.
