Saving Seafood

How Do I Chum You Up?: Dewey Hemilright, Long Line Fisherman of Wanchese

June 19, 2019 — Sitting in the wheelhouse of the 42-foot FV Tarbaby in Wanchese, NC, we found Captain Dewey Hemilright, pelagic longliner, member of one the most highly restricted fisheries in the U.S. if not the world. As his girlfriend’s dog Annie angled for back-scratches, Captain Dewey pointed to a large console of equipment that makes up his mandatory Video Monitoring System, recording his every move when in Bluefin territory. He flipped through a notebook containing swordfish, Atlantic tuna, snapper grouper, large coastal sharks, and Spanish mackerel permits. He listed all of his U.S. Coast Guard safety requirements, and showed us his federal sea turtle de-hooking certification.

“Every 3 years I’ve got to be re-certified or I don’t get my permits renewed,” he explained. “For this sea turtle class, we have to de-hook a cardboard box!”

Above and beyond all the permit requirements, monitoring, and fishing regulations, it takes much more to stay afloat in the fishing industry. To Captain Dewey, it comes down to an emphasis on “we”, not “me,” and active participation in management.

“Your fishery is on the agenda, like it or not. So we better be involved.” Hemilright has been involved in fisheries management since 1997. “I’ve had a few people enable me to go to meetings early on, and I don’t know whether to thank them or kick them in the ass.” He currently serves as one of three voting delegates from North Carolina on the federal Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and is on six Council advisory committees. He’s also a liaison to the South Atlantic Council, as North Carolina is a “swing state” ecologically, and is subject to federal management of northern and southern species.

Read the full story at Raising the Story

Shark bill could resolve debate over domestic fin market

March 20, 2018 — It’s fair to say that if the press release is coming from Oceana, it’s not going to have anything nice to say about the fishing industry. This is an outfit that seems to glory in perpetuating the misconception that reports on global fisheries apply equally to U.S. fishermen, fleets and practices as they do to foreign industry players.

That’s why when I saw Oceana had collaborated in the launch of Global Fishing Watch, I knew something outside of the worthy mission of combating IUU fishing was likely to come of it. We saw that in late February with the release of an article in Science that based its data on Global Fishing Watch.

Granted, if you look at the maps of aggregate data, you’ll see that U.S. coastal waters are not covered with the traffic Oceana deems damning. But not many average readers have time to dig that far or ask these kinds of questions about data sets. They see the headlines and condemn all fishing en masse.

The misconception that our fishing industry is just a small part of a globally mismanaged fishing industry is a perpetual grind against our highly regulated U.S. fleets.

Fishing is the seventh most regulated industry in the country, just barely outranking fishing is commercial air travel. And right behind it? Oil and gas extraction.

“I fish in North Carolina, and I’m regulated by the South Atlantic council, the Mid-Atlantic council, NMFS, the Atlantic States [Marine Fisheries Commission] and the state of North Carolina,” said Dewey Hemilright, a 2012 NF Highliner from Wanchese, N.C., and a supporter of a new bill that would preserve U.S. shark fishing.

The Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2018 (H.R. 524) is a bipartisan bill that aims to create a formal and transparent certification program for countries seeking to import shark products into the United States. Foreign nations would apply for certification from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce confirming that they have an effective prohibition on shark finning and have shark management policies comparable to ours.

Read the full story at the National Fisherman

 

NORTH CAROLINA: Questions surround funding for flounder fishery observers

January 17, 2017 — Watermen want to know what happened to commercial license fees that were collected to fund observers required by law for flounder fishing when sea turtles are spotted in area waters.

Few answers were provided at a meeting of the North Carolina Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committee on Jan. 4.

Records show that $1.3 million was allocated for the observers in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, but only $608,065 was spent.

Dewey Hemilright, who attended the meeting, asked how so much could have been spent on the Section 10 permit program when the flounder fishery was closed much of the season.

“Expenses need more accountability,” said Hemilright, a long-line fisherman. “This doesn’t affect me, but I’m willing to pay the extra money if it allows others to fish. But if there’s more being paid in than is needed, then it should be returned to the fishermen.”

An additional license fee was imposed after a state appropriation to cover the cost of complying with the federal permit’s conditions was eliminated. One condition requires the observers, who monitor interactions with endangered sea turtles and sturgeon.

The fishery can be shut down if turtles and sturgeon are found in the management area.

Section 10 observers are a part of the DMF Observer Program, also called the Resource Protection unit, which has much broader responsibilities, The unit develops fishery management plans, assesses stocks and collects at-sea information about commercial and recreational catches.

After the loss of revenue to pay for the permit program, the North Carolina Fisheries Association brokered a deal in which fishermen agreed to pay substantially higher license fees to fund the Section 10 permit observers.

“It was the only way they could continue to fish,” said Jerry Schill, NCFA director.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice