Releases – September 29, 2011
Make your fishing wishes come true with the annual Surf Fishing Workshop weekend, Oct. 14-16, hosted by the North Carolina Aquarium atPineKnollShores. Expert instruction and hands-on experience are the trademarks of this popular seminar, now in its 21st year.
Instruction covers 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. The course gets beginners off to a great start and is an excellent refresher for all skill levels. The action culminates with a fishing trip to Cape Lookout National Seashore.
The cost is $150 per person, discounted 10 percent for Aquarium members. Advance registration is required and can be accomplished by phone or online. For more information, see www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores or call (252) 247-4003.
Prepare to wet a line and reel in a prize-winning red drum or speckled trout during the onlyNorth Carolinaleg of the international Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series that benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Take the bait and book passage today for the Cape Fear Red Trout Celebrity Classic, Oct. 21-23, stationed at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort inWrightsvilleBeach.
Dozens of experienced, intermediate, and beginner fly, spin, plug, and bait fishermen and women from across the state of North Carolina and beyond travel to Wrightsville Beach to fish the inshore waters of the Cape Fear during this guided catch-and-release, photo finish International Game Fish Association sanctioned contest.
Boats will embark from the Blockade Runner’s Banks Channel dock. Seasoned local and celebrity fishing guides are teamed with anglers based on skill level. Individual anglers may be paired with Redbone founder Gary Ellis. Ninety percent of the $1,125 per person entry fee benefits Cystic Fibrosis. Registration fees includes the guided vessel and gear, attendance for two at the Catch the Cure kickoff banquet, receptions and meals, T-shirt, fishing shirt, and gift bag.
The tournament Grand Champion will qualify to compete in the three-day Rolex/IGFA Inshore Tournament of Champions in theFlorida Keys. Other tournament awards include beautifully framed original works of art and bragging rights, plus the reward of a personal contribution to fight Cystic Fibrosis, a progressive disability that affects approximately 30,000 Americans.
The three-day weekend begins with dinner and auctions at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, at the Blockade Runner. Followed by a 6:30 a.m. breakfast, the fishing begins at 7:00 a.m. and concludes at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22. Fishing resumes at 7:00 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, and concludes at 3:00 p.m. The awards party will be held on the Blockade Runner’soceansidelawn at 4:00 p.m.
The Cape Fear Red Trout Celebrity Classic has raised between $45,000 and $65,000 annually. For sponsorship and angler package deals, two-person team and individual registration, visit www.cfredtrout.com
More about the international Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series may be found at www.redbone.org.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted on striped bass and other issues at its meeting inRaleighlast week. Among actions, the commission adopted a proposal for a limited entry system for the commercialAtlantic Oceanstriped bass fishery, possibly for the 2012-2013 fishing season. The proposal adds hook-and-line as an allowable commercial gear in the fishery.
Approval of this proposal effectively directs the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to develop a limited entry system for the fishery. The division will bring specifics of a proposal before commission for final approval in the coming months. For the interim, the commission approved a short-term strategy to manage the commercial ocean striped bass fishery with seasons and trip limits under the same gear permit system used in previous years.
Commercial fishermen wishing to participate in the ocean striped bass fishery this winter need to purchase an Atlantic Ocean Striped Bass Commercial Gear Permit. There will not be a deadline on obtaining this permit this year. The permit costs $10 and is available at any N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries license office. Fishermen can also call the division to request a mail-in application.
At the time of permit application, the person holding the commercial fishing license or license assignment must declare what type of gear he intends to use: gill net, trawl, or beach seine. Gear declarations will be binding on the permit holder for three consecutive years or until the limited entry permit system begins.
Beach seine season will open Dec. 1 with a 150-fish-per-day-per-license harvest limit and a four-man-per-license maximum crew limit. The beach seine season will close once the quota is caught.
Gill net season will open Jan. 1 with a 50-fish-per-day-per-vessel harvest limit. The gill net season will stay open until the quota is caught.
Trawl net season will begin immediately after the gill net season closes, but no later than Jan. 15 (whichever comes first). Trawl permit holders will be under a 100-fish-per-vessel-per-day harvest limit. During the open season, trawl permit holders may only possess ocean striped bass on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Trawl net permit holders will be allowed a 15-fish-per day-per vessel bycatch from Dec. 1 until the regular trawl net season opens.
In order to avoid waste, fishermen who hold either of the three gear permits will be allowed to transfer fish they catch over the daily harvest limit to other striped bass permit holders. If a trawl vessel needs to return to the dock with more than its daily trip limit for any circumstance, Marine Patrol must be notified before docking. Any overage or transfer at the dock will be overseen by a Marine Patrol officer. Transferred fish will be counted against the quota.
In the event of a fish spill similar to this past winter, the commission authorized division Director Louis Daniel to deduct any quantifiable waste in the commercialAtlantic Oceanstriped bass fishery from the commercial quota. In other action, the commission voted to:
(1) Open the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area Sept. 19 seven days a week under the same regulations and permit requirements as previous years. However, if there is an interaction with a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, fishing days will reduce to six. If there is a second interaction with a live Kemp’s ridley, the number of fishing days will reduce to five. The commission also authorized division Director Daniel to implement stricter regulations, if needed. The Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area must close to all large-mesh gill nets for the remainder of the fall fishing season if the fishery has interactions with three live or two dead Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.
(2) Open southern Core Sound, Back Sound, The Straits, andNorth Riverto set large-mesh gill nets Oct. 1 under regulations established by a sea turtle lawsuit settlement. Since this settlement only allows this fishery on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, the effective opening date will be Oct. 3.
(3) Send a draft Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan out for public comment on options for ending overfishing within two years of final adoption of the plan.
(4) Send Amendment 1 to the Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan out for public comment.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding fishermen that the recreational black sea bass fishery will close Monday, September 26, in all coastal waters north ofCapeHatteras. The closure will remain in effect until Oct. 31. The closure complies with management measures approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in April after the coast-wide recreational fishery exceeded the recreational allocation for 2010.
Each state was required to develop regulations to reduce the recreational black sea bass harvest in 2011 by 37 percent. Management measures approved forNorth Carolina’s recreational black sea bass fishery north ofCapeHatteraswere a 12.5-inch minimum size limit, 25-fish bag limit, and open seasons from July 1 to Sept. 25 and Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.
For more information, contact division biologist Chris Batsavage at (252) 808-8088 or Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, and others to advise them on various fisheries issues. Four regional advisory committees – Northeast, Central, Southeast, and Inland – and four standing advisory committees – Crustacean, Shellfish, Finfish, and Habitat and Water Quality – review matters referred to them by the commission, such as draft fishery management plans, and then recommend management strategies.
Committees may also bring issues pertaining to their region or subject matter to the commission’s attention.
Individuals interested in serving as advisers should be willing to attend meetings at least once every two months and actively participate in the committee process. Advisers are eligible to be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to their official duties. The Marine Fisheries Commission chairman appoints members for three-year terms. Several terms will expire in January.
Adviser applications are available online at www.ncfisheries.net, at Division of Marine Fisheries’ offices, or by calling (252) 808-8022 or (800) 682-2632. Applications should be returned by Nov. 1 to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries,P.O. Box 769,Morehead City,NC28557, Attention: Lauren Morris.
