Saving Seafood

Warming Waters Bring New Marine Species to NC, But Chase Away Some Familiar Ones

Bull sharks and lion fish are among the species becoming more common in North Carolina, while black sea bass and other fish are getting harder to find.

August 8, 2017 — A big reason reason North Carolina is seeing so much change in its marine species is because the state has an unusual variety of them, said Sara Mirabilio, a researcher and fisheries extension specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant.

Near Cape Hatteras, the cold Labrador Current comes down from the Arctic, and the warm Gulf Stream flows up from the Gulf of Mexico.

“We are at the northernmost range for southern species and the southernmost range for northern species,” she said. “So climate change at the boundaries will show the most impact.”

In many ways climate change is unfolding as the slowest of slow-motion disasters. But fish can move quickly and for long distances when spurred by relatively small changes in water temperature.

Lately they have moved so quickly that fisheries regulations are lagging, and tensions are rising between commercial fishermen based where the fish used to be, and those where the fish have moved.

On a recent day, Mike Ireland’s 99-foot trawler “Sharon Nicole” was docked behind a seafood wholesaler in the Hobucken community east of New Bern, just off the Pamlico Sound.

Shrimp season was under way, but he and his crew were repairing one of the massive, powered winches that haul in their nets. It was an especially crucial one, because it reels in the small net they drag to locate fish.

“This is probably the most important tool on the boat,” Ireland said. “With this little sample net you can really pinpoint where they’re at.”

Read and listen to the full story at WUNC

NORTH CAROLINA: Tale of two sides: Opponents, backers of shrimp trawling petition weigh in

February 23, 2017 — NEW BERN, N.C. — A fishing industry advocacy group said the proposed state regulations in a recently approved petition could sink shrimp trawling in North Carolina, but a recreational fishermen’s environmental nonprofit thinks shrimping will just need to change.

Representatives from the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit industry group that advocates for the state seafood industry, and the North Carolina branch of the Coastal Conservation Association, an interstate nonprofit dedicated to protecting the coastal environment, spoke Tuesday to a crowd of about 84 people at the regular meeting of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayer’s Association at the Stanly Hall Ballroom. The association invited them to provide their opinions on the petition for rulemaking approved Thursday by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.

Jerry Schill, NCFA executive director, said the association thinks the proposed special secondary nursery areas are the biggest problem with the petition’s proposed rules.

“The people who created this petition, they don’t understand the history of the (shrimp trawl bycatch) issue,” he said. “The fishing industry created nursery areas in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the term ‘bycatch’ came up.  Now we have turtle excluder devices in shrimp trawls and sea turtles have rebounded. Finfish bycatch is still an issue, but bycatch reduction devices are being used.”

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

NORTH CAROLINA: Hearing on proposed fishing limits draws a thousand

January 19, 2017 — Commercial fishermen, biologists, conservationists and seafood consumers came out in force Tuesday in New Bern to stop proposed regulations that would restrict commercial fishing in North Carolina’s sounds and estuaries.

Several shrimp boats traveled up the Neuse River and anchored off Union Point Park for Tuesday’s meeting at New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, a meeting that drew about a thousand people, most of them opposed to a petition from the nonprofit N.C. Wildlife Federation to restrict commercial fishing in North Carolina.

Committees of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted at the end of the 7½-hour meeting to recommend denying the petition that would have restricted the number of days commercial fishermen could fish in special secondary nursery areas to three a week (four days per week in the ocean); reduce headrope length on shrimp trawlers to 90 feet from 220 feet in internal coastal waters and 110 feet in the ocean; and calls for a mesh size study on fishing nets to limit the harvest of juvenile Atlantic croaker and spot.

Supporters of the petition said the restrictions were an attempt to increase the bounty of shrimp, croaker and spot by giving juveniles a chance to mature and reproduce for one generation instead of being lost in the bycatch, which generally are fish not targeted by commercial fishermen that nevertheless are caught up in nets.

However, opponents to the petition said there was no science to the studies that looked at the fish populations from 1981 to 2015. Despite the declining numbers of stock being presented, shrimpers said last year was the best catch they could remember and the stock was not declining.

Read the full story at the New Bern Sun Journal

NORTH CAROLINA: Fisheries committees vote against further regulations

January 18, 2017 — NEW BERN, N.C. — Five North Carolina fisheries committees have rejected a proposal to further regulate shrimp trawling after a public meeting that ended with 60 people waiting to speak.

The Sun Journal of New Bern reports (http://bit.ly/2jZDKVo) the committees voted Tuesday to recommend that the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission deny the request from the state Wildlife Federation for more regulations.

The nonprofit conservation group’s petition wanted to reduce the number of days shrimp trawlers could fish, how much they could fish and where they could trawl in North Carolina waters.

So many people spoke against the petition that the chairman of the panel had to stop the public hearing while 60 people were still signed up to speak.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the News & Record

NCFA: Workshop Meets to Address Bycatch in North Carolina Shrimp Trawl Fishery

January 13, 2017 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

A workgroup formed by the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission in 2015 to investigate ways to further reduce bycatch in shrimp trawls met recently in New Bern. The industry work group is a collaborative effort that consists of staff from the Division of Marine Fisheries, N.C. Sea Grant, fishing vessel owners, net makers and a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The meeting recently held at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern follows the second year of a three year project, and is showing some very promising results.

The goal set by the Marine Fisheries Commission for the workgroup was set at 40% reduction in finfish bycatch.

Of the devices that were tested, the device achieving the highest reduction in the previous year was further modified for year two, resulting in a 54.5% reduction of finfish bycatch and a 52.2% reduction in bycatch of all types.

It was noted that none of the sampling for the project was done by extrapolation, but by sampling the entire contents of over 180 tows.

The meeting was held while a Petition for Rulemaking, filed by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and the Southern Environmental Law Center, is being considered by the Marine Fisheries Commission. If the proposed regulations were enacted as proposed by the petitioners, there would be severe restrictions to shrimping in North Carolina.

“In the many years that I’ve been involved with representing the state’s commercial fishermen, there is no one issue that we’ve spent more time on than reducing bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery”, said Jerry Schill, President of the North Carolina Fisheries Association. “Further, there is no one issue where we’ve had more success than reducing that bycatch. However, with their goal of eliminating shrimp trawling in our state, the onslaught continues. It will not abate until they’re successful”.

The public meeting to address the petition will be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern, NC, beginning at 12:30pm.

NORTH CAROLINA: Opponents line up in showdown over limits to shrimp trawling

January 12, 2017 — Hyde County Commissioners, along with local stakeholders and seafood advocates, have issued strong opposition to proposed rules that would result in major changes to the state’s commercial trawling industry. They say the restrictions could ultimately end the state’s access shrimp.

A petition for the changes was submitted to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission on Nov. 2 by The North Carolina Wildlife Federation. It asks the state to designate coastal fishing waters in the sounds and 3 miles into the ocean as primary nursery areas for various fisheries.

The petition was discussed at the commission’s November meeting. On Jan. 17, five joint advisory committees will meet and hear public comment on the issue in New Bern. Then, the commission will review comments and take action at its February meeting.

Other rule changes outlined in the 99-page NCWF petition are: Limiting shrimp trawling to three days a week; limiting trawling to daytime only; limiting the total head rope (the span of the nets) to 90 feet; establishing 45-minute tow times; define type of gear and how it can be used in special secondary nursery areas;and opening the season based on a 60 shrimp per pound.

Last week, Hyde County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution opposing the rules. Dare County and its towns are also taking up resolutions. Groups such as North Carolina Catch and the North Carolina Fisheries Association have taken stands against the petition and an individual effort has started a counter-petition.

The Hyde resolution says that hundreds of local businesses and families depend on catches from trawlers. Shrimp catches represent paychecks for the captain, crew and seafood industry, as well as products to market to visitors. The affects range across the 20 coastal North Carolina counties that boast a commercial fishing history.

“This petition would obviously cripple the state’s shrimp fishery, which is the second most valuable in our state and supports a number of other valuable industries such as gear design and manufacture, boat building and repair, refrigeration and repair, mechanical engineering, marine propulsion dealers, fuel distribution, seafood processing and a vibrant restaurant industry,” said Lauren Salter of Williston.

Salter serves on the board of directors for North Carolina Catch, a statewide group that works with several localized fishing partnerships to educate consumers about the importance of buying local seafood.

“This goes beyond shrimping,” said Salter, who is also the daughter of a down-east commercial fisherman. “If special interest groups continue to successfully limit access to our seafood by skillfully sidestepping the established fisheries management process, no seafood will be safe.”

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice

North Carolina Fisheries Association files legal complaint over southern flounder rule process

September 30, 2016 — For the second time in recent years, entities representing commercial fishermen have taken to the courts to fight fisheries regulations.

The North Carolina Fisheries Association, a New Bern-based trade association representing commercial fishermen, announced that commercial fishermen have joined with several coastal counties in filing a legal complaint against the state over the process used in adopting new regulations for the southern flounder fishery.

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission adopted stricter management measures for the fishery in November as a supplement to the state’s Southern Flounder Management Plan.

While the practical effect of the lawsuit would stop the closure of recreational and commercial flounder fisheries to take effect this fall, the concern raised by the NCFA has been over the use of the supplement process rather than the amendment process, which is a longer, more-involved process that allows for greater public input.

“Filing a lawsuit is the last resort for us,” said Brent Fulcher, chairman of the NCFA board of directors, via a news release announcing the litigation. “We testified many times last year before the Marine Fisheries Commission that using the supplement is the wrong approach and should be managed by a full-blown amendment that allows full public participation. Our advice was totally ignored.”

In a June 2015 report by The Daily News, NCFA President Jerry Schill called the supplement process used “quick and dirty.”

Schill said at the time that the amendment process includes a review by a committee of various stakeholders who make recommendations to the MFC on a management strategy. The process can take a year or so but allows for more scrutiny.

Supporters of the new rules, many recreational fishermen, however, cited stock status reports and said the southern flounder fishery is depleted and action was needed.

It’s not the first time the NCFA has felt the need in recent years to take legal action over fishery regulations.

Read the full story from Jacksonville Daily News

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for September 5, 2016

September 6, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

This Weekly Update is just a little bit early this week due to several reasons, one being, Labor Day! Most folks that really should celebrate Labor Day are working!

FUNERAL SERVICE FOR CHARLIE WYNN OF ORIENTAL:

We sent out information previously about Charlie, so here is the information about his funeral.

Sunday at 2:00pm at the Tabernacle Church 885 Hwy 306
Grantsboro NC 28529

From David:

NC Fisheries Workshop Update:

The date and location is set for: September 17, 2016

8:00am till 5:00pm
NC History Center at Tryon Palace in New Bern.

The address is 529 S Front St, New Bern, NC 28562.

For this workshop, all items necessary will be provided, including a packet containing handouts to follow along with and take notes.

I need an accurate count of who wishes to attend in order to have handouts prepared, so if you are planning to attend but have not confirmed, please let me know ASAP. It is also my intention to provide a light lunch in order to keep the class rolling and provide time for related discussion.

Even if you have not responded yet, but wish to attend, please contact me as soon as possible. Still, I anticipate plenty of walk-in room for those who decide at the last minute.

If you have not done so already, please contact me at davidbush@ncfish.org, or 910-777-1605 to reserve a seat for you.

See the full update at the North Carolina Fisheries Associaton

Commercial fishermen: Net ban would destroy N.C. seafood industry

May 23, 2016 — A state House bill first introduced 16 years ago has been resurrected that would ban the use of large trawling nets in state waters, a move that the commercial fishing industry says could destroy the livelihood for most North Carolina fishermen.

New Bern native Billy Richardson, D­-Cumberland, filed a bill that would let voters decide whether to outlaw gill and certain other nets in all state coastal waters. If the N.C. General Assembly supports House Bill 1122, the binding referendum would be on the November election ballot.

“It would be the end of North Carolina’s (commercial) fishery,” said Wayne Dunbar, a waterman for nearly 40 years, located in Pamlico County’s Paradise Shores on Lower Broad Creek, leading into the Pamlico Sound. “People that don’t fish wouldn’t get North Carolina seafood.”

Dunbar said this time of the year most of the fishermen trawl inland waters for speckled trout, flounder, spot, croakers and menhaden. On a typical day, he will go out in his small boat with 300 yards of net and fill a fish box with about 300 pounds of seafood.

Dunbar, who studied fish and wildlife management at Wayne Community College, said a net ban also would be devastating to the crab industry, the largest of the state’s fisheries.

The bait includes menhaden and other fish caught in nets.

Read the full story at the New Bern Sun Journal

NORTH CAROLINA: Fisheries meetings this Monday in New Bern!

January 23, 2016 — The following was released by North Carolina Fisheries Association:

NCFA’s Annual Meeting is this coming Monday, January 25th, at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern.

The day’s agenda will include the Bycatch reduction workshop at 10:00, the Southern Shrimp Alliance at 2:00 and our Annual Meeting at 3:00.

At the very top of this note, you will see a link to print out a proxy form if you cannot attend. You can either email the form to David Bush, davidbush@ncfish.org, or fax it to us at 252-633-6233.

NCFA will celebrate its 64th anniversary this summer. I’ve been involved for almost 30 of those years. Every year since 1987, I have heard some fishermen and some dealers complain about what we do or what we don’t do. Some of those criticisms have been valid and some absolute bull. Regardless, there is no doubt that we can learn from those comments to make us more effective.

Some who criticize do it for the right reason and some are just chronic complainers. NCFA gives one vote to each member in good standing regardless of what they do. Our meetings are not closed but open to anyone, although only members in good standing can vote. If you are a regular member in good standing of one of our affiliates, you are automatically a member of NCFA.

We remain in a rebuilding mode at NCFA. We need your help to make that effort successful and once again, ask you to make a very strong attempt to attend the Annual Meeting this Monday. If you cannot, please send in your proxy.

View the Annual Meeting Proxy Form