May 9, 2013 — House Bill 983 would ban the commercial catching and sale of spotted sea trout, red drum and freshwater striped bass, leaving them for recreational anglers. Commercial fishermen, restaurant owners and elected officials across the Outer Banks have spoken against the measure.
"The most ironic thing is, I've been in the restaurant business 17 years, and I've seen more speckled trout this year than in any of the other years," said Bud Gruninger, head chef at Lone Cedar.
A forum Monday in Raleigh lasted about three hours with dozens of people, many from the Outer Banks, speaking out on the game-fish bill. Most spoke against it, and some resorted to calling recreational fishermen rich and greedy, among the printable names.
"Hatteras Village could be the first to totally fall apart with the impact of this game-fish bill," Dan Oden said at the forum. As owner of Oden's Dock in Hatteras, he serves commercial and recreational fishermen.
Sport-fishing groups support the bill. It would be a boon to the species and attract more recreational fishermen to coastal towns, pumping in more tourism revenue, argues the website of the Coastal Conservation Association, a nonprofit made up largely of saltwater recreational fishermen. The group has lobbied for the bill's passage.
Texas and Florida are among coastal states that already have passed similar bills without harming the commercial industry, according to the website. Executive Director Stephen Ammons of the Coastal Conservation Association could not be reached.
Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot