Releases – September 27, 2012
With simultaneous snips from five pairs of scissors, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Onslow County recently cut the ribbon to celebrate the new Sneads Ferry Boating Access Area.
The boating access area is located at 302 Fulchers Landing Road in Sneads Ferry. It allows boating anglers to launch onto the New River, providing access to both fresh and saltwater fishing opportunities.
“The Sneads Ferry Boating Access Area is popular with fishermen headed out to the inlet to fish offshore, but many also stay inshore to fish for speckled trout, flounder, puppy drum, and other species,” said Erik Christofferson, chief of the Wildlife Commission’s Division of Engineering Services. “We are grateful for the partnerships that allowed us to renovate this popular site on the New River.”
The partnership between Onslow County and the Wildlife Commission came up with the $2.68 million needed to cover the total cost of the Sneads Ferry Boating Access Area project. Onslow County received a Waterfront Access and Marine Industry (WAMI) grant of $2,013,500 to purchase the property for the state. The Wildlife Commission received a $40,000 WAMI grant and motorboat registration receipts for construction costs.
North Carolina Representative Phil Shepard said the decision to work with the Wildlife Commission was easy.
“I come down here quite a bit, and so I saw them working on the project as it progressed,” he said. “These guys are so meticulous about everything in this project. They are a real credit to the Wildlife Commission.”
The joint ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the culmination of a two-phase renovation and construction project. Phase one included removal of underground storage tanks and contaminated soils, as well as demolition of existing buildings. In the second phase, Wildlife Commission engineers and construction crews built and installed the new boating access area infrastructure.
The 1.8-acre boating access area has two launch lanes, along with three floating docks. The paved main parking lot and gravel overflow parking area feature 37 vehicle-trailer spaces and 11 single-car spaces, including three handicapped-accessible parking spaces.
The commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic from North Carolina to Key West, Florida, will be closed, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time), September 28, 2012, through 12:01 a.m. January 1, 2013. NOAA Fisheries has determined the July – December 2012 commercial annual catch limit of 302,523 pounds will be reached by that date.
The operator of a vessel that has been issued a federal commercial permit for snapper-grouper and that is landing vermilion snapper for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such vermilion snapper prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, September 28, 2012. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to sale or purchase of vermilion snapper that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, September 28, 2012, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
Recreational Sector: During the commercial sector closure, all harvest and possession of vermilion snapper in or from closed federal waters of the South Atlantic is subject to the applicable bag and possession limits, and the sale or purchase of vermilion snapper taken from closed federal waters is prohibited. The bag and possession limits and the prohibition on sale or purchase apply in state and federal waters of the South Atlantic for a vessel for which a valid federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper has been issued. The bag limit for captain and crew is zero.
To protect sea turtles, Pamlico Sound will close to all large-mesh gill net fishing on Wed., Sept. 26. The Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area opened Sept. 15, and during the first week the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has documented four interactions between gill nets and sea turtles in these waters. These interactions included one dead and one live endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles.
It is uncertain if the waters will reopen this fall. The decision will depend on the occurrence of sea turtles in the area. By federal rule, all of Pamlico Sound closes to large-mesh gill net fishing from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 each year. The closure began in 1999 after several instances of fishery interactions with threatened and endangered sea turtles.
However, since 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service has allowed a highly-monitored, large-mesh gill net fishery during the closure in limited areas of the sound under a series of incidental take permits. These permits, authorized under Section 10 of the federal Endangered Species Act, allow for limited takes of threatened or endangered species in an otherwise lawful activity.
North Carolina’s latest incidental take permit for the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area expired Dec. 31, 2010. However, the National Marine Fisheries Service has agreed to allow this fishery to continue while the state applies for an incidental take permit to cover set gill nets statewide. An application for this permit, submitted in May 2010, is still under review.
Specific regulations pertaining to the closure can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org. For more information, contact the division’s Protected Resources Section chief Chris Batsavage at (252) 808-8009 or Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.
On Sunday, October 28, the Kure Beach Fishing Pier will be holding a fundraising fishing tournament for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The IFHF Spot Fishing Tournament will begin at 10:00 am and will end at 4:00 pm. The prize money will be decided on a total combined weight of spot caught.
The 1st place winner receives $100, the 2nd place winner receives $75, and the 3rd place winner receives $50. Those interested can register either at Eugene Ashley High School or Kure Beach Fishing Pier. The deadline to register is Friday, October 26th. This is a single angler competition—no teams. The entry fee is $15.
Come out and support your local veterans!
Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area (CHNSRA) in North Carolina is one of the premier surf fishing locations in the United States, attracting anglers from all across the country for once-in-a-lifetime angling opportunities. Off-road vehicle (ORV) access to CHNSRA is essential for surf fishing from the beaches, as well as many other recreational activities.
However, on December 20, 2010, the National Park Service (NPS) announced its decision to approve an ORV management plan that closes extensive areas of the seashore to the public and severely limits ORV access, far outweighing what is needed to address resource protection. The final ORV plan, which went into effect on February 15, 2012, poses serious issues for the local economy, which is largely dependent upon tourism and recreation.
Executive Order 11644 of 1972 requires federal agencies permitting ORV use on agency lands to make regulations for such use. Due to this order, the NPS developed an ORV Management Plan for the CHNSRA. The NPS maintains that ORVs must be regulated in a manner that appropriately addresses resource protection—including threatened and endangered species—and potential conflicts among the various CHNSRA users. The NPS adopted a new management plan that went into effect on February 15, 2012, and closes extensive areas of the seashore to public access beyond what is needed for reasonable resource conservation.
Since ORVs are necessary to access many sportfishing areas of the CHNSRA, the concern is that the ORV Plan has given little consideration to economic impacts to any segment of the sportfishing industry and the communities that depend on sportfishing. The implementation of the ORV Plan poses serious questions about the future of recreational fishing in the CHNSRA and presents a serious challenge to sportfishing.
Legislation to reinstate the Park Service’s Interim Protected Species Management Strategy governing ORV and pedestrian access, which was subject to a public process and withstood environmental review, was introduced into both the House and Senate eariler this year. The legislation will overturn the newly adopted ORV management plan, and a similarly onerous 2008 Consent Decree that has guided park management for the last three years. H.R. 4094 and S. 2372 will restore reasonable ORV and pedestrian access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore while also appropriately conserving resident wildlife.
On June 19, 2012, the Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of a package of public lands bills. Attention is now turned to the U.S. Senate.
