February 12, 2015 — Outer Banks fishermen will have a higher bluefin tuna quota than ever to work with this winter. That is, if the lucrative big fish show up here, and the fishermen can get out of the shoaled inlets to catch them.
A new management rule that went into effect Jan. 1 effectively gives twice the general quota for bluefin over previous years for North Carolina through March 31.
“They took the December quota and moved it up to Jan. 1,” said Charley Pereira, president of the Southeast Bluefin Tuna Association. “We’ve got double the quota — yeah baby! — but we’ve got very, very little inlet, to the point of danger.”
For the last few months, Oregon Inlet has been nearly impassable for all but the smallest vessels.
“If the bluefin show up here, there’s going to be a huge safety issue,” he said.
Although the quota change might ease some of the longstanding regional conflict over bluefin that fanned last year’s Wicked Tuna: North Vs. South program, it still does nothing to change the overall share of the pie.
Read the full story at the Outer Banks Voice