Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Fisheries Nominating Committee to Meet

October 8, 2020 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Nominating Committee will meet next week by webinar to recommend candidates for at-large seats on two fishery management councils.

The committee’s recommendations for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be forwarded to the Marine Fisheries Commission, a nine-member board appointed by the governor to manage, restore, develop, cultivate, protect and regulate the state’s marine and estuary resources.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

Flounder: Summer landings on track; reductions coming for southern allocations

August 18, 2020 — Summer flounder is a popular commercial fishery in the Mid-Atlantic region, with North Carolina allocated the largest share at 27.44 percent. Despite the widespread disruption in markets from covid-19, the state’s fleet by early summer was on track for landings just slightly lower than 2019.

Preliminary statistics show 69 North Carolina vessels representing 131 trips had landed 744,479 pounds of summer flounder by late June, with a value of $2.67 million distributed to 16 dealers.

“Landings of summer flounder appear to be somewhat down from last year, but the trend seems similar,” said Lee Paramore, biologist supervisor with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. “Since we can modify trip limits to stay within quota, it may be possible to allow for increased harvest if landings remain down relative to last year.

“There a lot of factors that can impact landings, and we haven’t yet determined if covid will play a part, but currently the fish houses here that typically land summer flounder have been operating at same level.”

The state’s commercial landings for summer flounder have been consistent since 2008 ,with the exception of 2012-13, where excessive shoaling in Oregon Inlet limited the number of trawl boats able to land in North Carolina. Annual commercial landings averaged 2.25 million pounds of summer flounder since 2008.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Calls for reform and a coming resignation as fight rages over coastal fisheries

November 25, 2019 — A wildlife conservation group called this week for an overhaul in the way North Carolina manages its coastal fisheries, and a member of the policy-setting commission in charge is contemplating resignation.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation voted Saturday to recommend a massive management consolidation over one of the state’s most contentious issues. Under their plan, the Marine Fisheries Commission, a board appointed by the governor, and the Division of Marine Fisheries, which enforces rules day to day along the North Carolina coast, would be folded into the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

Wildlife Resources is a stand-alone entity whose board is appointed by the governor and leadership in the General Assembly, and it already manages freshwater fishing in North Carolina’s lakes and rivers. The commission is jousting now with the Division of Marine Fisheries over just where each entity’s boundaries are when freshwater meets saltwater along North Carolina’s coast.

Read the full story at WRAL

NC SOUTHERN FLOUNDER SEASON COMES TO CLOSE NEXT WEEK

August 30, 2019 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission says that recreational and commercial southern flounder fishing will close on September 4.

The decision for the season’s close was made in a meeting last week where the commission adopted the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2 by the Division of Marine Fisheries.

The director of the Division of Marine Fisheries has flexibility to change the dates of commercial and recreational seasons as long as they meet harvest reductions.

Read the full story at WWAY3

Recreational and commercial southern flounder seasons to close Sept. 4

August 29, 2019 — The recreational and commercial southern flounder seasons will close Sept. 4 in North Carolina waters. The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission made the decision at its meeting last week, adopting the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2 as proposed by the Division of Marine Fisheries.

The commission did give the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries flexibility to change the dates of proposed commercial and recreational seasons so long as they still meet required harvest reductions. The division plans to issue proclamations this week that close the commercial and recreational season on Sept. 4. Changes to the allowable gears in the commercial ocean flounder fishery will also be implemented Sept. 4.

Read the full story at the Island Free Press

NORTH CAROLINA: Marine Fisheries votes to close flounder fishing

August 23, 2019 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission adopted the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2 as proposed by the Division of Marine Fisheries, giving the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries flexibility with the commercial and recreational seasons so long as they meet the statutorily required harvest reductions.

The Division of Marine Fisheries anticipates issuing a proclamation next week that closes the commercial and recreational season around Sept. 4.

The most recent coast-wide (North Carolina to the east coast of Florida) stock assessment for Southern Flounder determined the stock is overfished and overfishing is occurring. Reductions in total removals of southern flounder are required by state law to achieve a sustainable harvest, end overfishing within two years and recover the stock from an overfished condition within a 10-year period. Management measures to meet these requirements have been developed for consideration by the Marine Fisheries Commission for implementation before fall 2019 and are found in draft Amendment 2.

Read the full story at the State Port Pilot

Lingering North Carolina Fisheries Association issues persist into 2019

January 25, 2019 — Captain George’s was the venue for the recent 2019 North Carolina Fisheries Association’s Annual Meeting, which addressed issues that included conflicts with special interest groups, shrimp trawl bans and aquaculture in the sounds.

The NCFA is the primary organization promoting, providing education and, in recent years, defending North Carolina’s commercial fishing industry.

NCFA board presided over an extensive agenda, discussing and taking comments from the dozen or so NCFA members attending on a wide range of legislative, regulatory and other issues the organization faces in 2019.

As board Chairman Brent Fulcher worked his way through the agenda, many of the same concerns facing the NCFA this year are the same, unresolved issues that were on the board’s plate five, 10, and even 20 years ago.

Primary among them were the continuing challenges of well-financed efforts of special interest groups claiming to represent recreational fishing interests.

For those who have followed these issues in the past, the actions of the Coastal Conservation Association, a national group with state chapters active in virtually every state, was once again behind several initiatives seen as a threat by the NCFA to their industry.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice

NORTH CAROLINA: Governor Cooper makes MFC appointments

August 2, 2018 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

We have been notified today that Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the Marine Fisheries Commission:

* Rob Bizzell of Kinston as a Recreation Sports Fisherman & Chair.

Bizzell is the Founder of Realo Discount Drug Stores, and the co-founder of Carolina Home Medical. Bizzell served as the President for the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association and Chair of the Marine Fisheries Commission.

* Mike Blanton of Elizabeth City as a Commercial Fisherman.
Blanton fishes full-time in the Albemarle Sound. He currently serves as the proxy for the North Carolina Legislative Appointee to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

* Tom Hendrickson of Zebulon and Harkers Island as a member at-large.
He is an attorney and businessman who works in real estate development, commercial real estate investment and management, including apartments in New Bern and affordable housing in Charlotte. He also serves on the Global Transpark Authority and was the Founding Chairman of North State Bank.

NCFA is pleased that the Governor has made these appointments and notes that commercial fisherman Mike Blanton is an NCFA member. We encourage fishermen to attend the next MFC meeting in Raleigh August 15 & 16.

 

N.C. officials to write definition of old profession – commercial fishing

January 5, 2018 — WANCHESE, N.C. — North Carolina officials plan to write the definition of one of the state’s longest-standing professions – commercial fishing.

The definition seems simple – a licensed person who sells seafood for money. But some anglers could be getting a commercial license just to allow them to catch more fish than they are supposed to, said Sam Corbett, chairman of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission.

“They’re going around the bag limits,” Corbett said. “It’s such a crazy issue.”

The evidence is in the number of licenses sold compared to those who sell their harvest to dealers, Corbett said.

Last year, 2,973 licensed fishermen sold seafood to a dealer totaling 59.9 million pounds worth $94 million. Roughly 4,000 others bought licenses without selling a catch to a seafood dealer.

People have caught and sold fish for centuries, but the industry became more profitable in the late 1800s with the advent of better ways of preserving and transporting the product. There is a boat and a set of nets in nearly every yard in coastal villages such as Wanchese.

Corbett, a lifelong waterman, will chair a three-person committee set to meet Thursday to determine who should be allowed a commercial fishing license. The report will go before the state’s commission and then to state lawmakers, he said.

The definition could cover a wide range of rules including requiring a certain number of fishing trips or a minimum amount of income earned from seafood sales, Corbett said.

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot

 

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 13, 2017

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

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13th!!!

OCTOBER IS SEAFOOD MONTH!

Seafood month got a great kickoff in North Carolina with last Saturday’s Fisherman’s Village on the Morehead City waterfront, and on Sunday morning at the Blessing of the Fleet.

For a message from Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, or NMFS, click the link below.
Message from Chris Oliver about Seafood Month

FROM THE DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES:

Advisory committee meetings to focus on cobia management measures – Three advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet on separate dates in October to discuss issues related to the cobia fishery.

The advisory committees will be asked to provide input to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission on management measures contained in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Draft Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Georgia to New York). The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board will meet Oct. 19 to vote on this plan.

The draft plan includes size, bag and vessel limits to complement federal measures. Most notably, the draft plan includes several proposed options for state-specific recreational harvest targets that will give individual states more flexibility in developing management measures to best suit their needs.

Currently, the recreational annual catch limit for Georgia to New York is managed on a coastwide basis. This has resulted in federal closures and significant overages, disrupting fishing opportunities and jeopardizing the health of the stock.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will discuss North Carolina’s recreational cobia management measures at its Nov. 15-16 meeting at the Doubletree by Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk.

For more information, contact Steve Poland, cobia staff lead with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, at 252-808-8159 or Steve.Poland@ncdenr.gov.

CALENDAR

Oct 15 – 19; ASMFC Annual Meeting; Waterside Marriott; Norfolk, VA

Oct 24; 6:00pm MFC Northern Advisory Committee; Dare County Complex; Manteo, NC

Oct 25; 6:00pm MFC Southern Advisory Committee; Cardinal Drive; Wilmington, NC

Oct 26; 6:00pm MFC Finfish Advisory Committee; DMF District Office; Morehead City, NC

Nov 8; Noon; NCFA Board of Directors; Civic Center; Washington, NC

Nov 15-16; NC Marine Fisheries Commission; Kitty Hawk

Dec 4 – 8; South Atlantic Council; Doubletree; Atlantic Beach, NC

Dec 6; Noon; NCFA Board of Directors; Civic Center, Washington, NC

Dec 11 – 14; Mid Atlantic Council; Westin Annapolis; Annapolis, MD