North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission Archives

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 13^th!!!

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

North Carolina fishing fight moves inland

June 7, 2017 — The long-running battle between commercial and recreational fishermen moved Tuesday to Raleigh, where both sides and lawmakers parried with their poles and nets over a proposal to put more regulations on commercial fishing along the North Carolina coast.

House Bill 867 puts fisheries conservation and management at the core of the state Marine Fisheries Commission’s duties. It also eliminates the concept of a “sustainable harvest” by commercial fishermen and says fishing stock must be managed scientifically to ensure species aren’t overfished.

“Strike the word ‘conservation’ and replace it with ‘allocation,'” Glen Skinner, a Carteret County commercial fisherman, told members of the House Committee on Wildlife Resources. “This is about reallocating resources from one to the next.”

“This is not about conservation,” said Pam Morris, president of Carteret Catch, which promotes local seafood and fishermen. “This is a power grab by some to further control fisheries.”

“Environment produces my fish, not regulations,” said Terry Pratt, president of the Albemarle Fishermen’s Association.

The commercial side disputed the notion that fish stocks along the coast are declining, with state Rep.

Beverly Boswell, R-Dare, pointing to a record shrimp harvest in recent years.

Read the full story at WRAL 5

Could North Carolina’s fisheries management see biggest change in decades?

May 2, 2017 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission’s priorities would shift from sustainability to conservation under proposed legislation that commercial fishermen view as potentially dangerous to their trade.

House Bill 867, which is supported by N.C. Sound Economy and a multitude of environmental groups, explicitly states conservation would become the commission’s focus. Under the legislation, the nine-member commission that crafts rules for the state’s fisheries would also be granted the authority to tweak management plans at will outside of the typical five-year review schedule.

North Carolina had four depleted and 13 fisheries of concern, according to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ latest stock status report.

“We have found that it takes too long to make changes to the management of these species and that has caused many of our species to become depleted,” said David Knight, a N.C. Wildlife Federation policy analyst.

H.B. 867, supporters say, is grounded in science and would allow fisheries to make full recoveries by revamping the Fisheries Reform Act of 1997 — ultimately benefiting both commercial and recreational fishermen. Commercial fishermen view the legislation differently, claiming it gives a commission that has swung toward recreational fishermen too much sway.

Read the full story at The Daily News

Could controversial North Carolina shrimping rules be stalled?

April 5, 2017 — A bill introduced by the state senators from two of North Carolina’s heaviest-shrimping districts would keep the state from adopting controversial shrimping rules until an ongoing study could be completed.

If approved, Senate Bill 432 would prevent the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission from proposing or adopting rules related to any petitions made during its Feb. 16 meeting until a shrimp gear study has been finished and results have been reported. The bill has been referred to the senate’s rules committee.

At question is a controversial N.C. Wildlife Federation petition that would see the fisheries commission limit shrimping to three days on the Intracoastal Waterway and sounds and four days on the ocean up to 3 miles out. The proposal would also limit the time a trawl could stay in the water to 45 minutes.

Shrimpers have been adamant the petition, which was approved by a 5-3 margin at February’s meeting, would devastate their industry if the rules went into effect. Environmentalists say the rules are intended to help protect juvenile fish from being caught in shrimp trawlers’ bycatch.

Read the full story at Star News

NORTH CAROLINA: Shrimp Trawling Proposal Moves Forward

February 28, 2017 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted February 16th to grant a petition for rulemaking and began drafting rules to implement it. If adopted, the rules will limit shrimp trawling in most North Carolina waters.

According to the Division of Marine Fisheries, shrimp are the second most economically important fishery in North Carolina. In communities like Englehard, Lowland, Hobucken and Down East Carteret County, many commercial fishermen make their living trawling for shrimp in the Pamlico Sound. That’s why a petition to reclassify most internal waters is a contentious topic right now.

At a public hearing last Thursday in Wilmington, the North Carolina Fisheries Commission voted 5-3 to grant a petition for rulemaking that if adopted would limit shrimp trawling in most North Carolina waters. Proponents say the changes would greatly reduce bycatch and help bolster populations of commercially valuable finfish. Those against the measure say it will raise the price of locally caught shrimp and could decimate the shrimping industry in North Carolina. Jerry Schill is the President of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization that lobbies local, state and federal policymakers on behalf of commercial fishermen.

“It was not surprising to us but it was very disappointing after you come off an advisory committee meeting in New Bern where the five advisory committees votes overwhelmingly to recommend that the Commission reject the petition or deny the petition. And they went ahead and accepted it anyway which was very disappointing.”

The petition, submitted on November 2nd by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and modified on January 12th asks the commission to designate all coastal fishing waters not otherwise designated as nursery areas (including the Atlantic Ocean out to three miles from shore) as special secondary nursery areas. It also seeks to establish clear criteria for the opening of shrimp season and define the type of gear and how and when gear may be used in special secondary nursery areas during shrimp season. Since the meeting, advisor with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation David Knight says he’s received a positive response from people who feel the recommendations are a step the right direction.

Read the full story at Public Radio East

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

Fisheries commission OKs shrimping limits

February 17, 2017 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Thursday approved a petition for rulemaking that could ultimately limit how shrimpers operate up and down the North Carolina coast.

At the close of the four-hour hearing at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside, the commission voted to approve the N.C. Wildlife Federation’s petition 5-3, with one member abstaining.

Federation officials explained earlier in the meeting the proposed rules are designed to protect juvenile fish that depend on the estuaries and near-shore waters to mature from being caught up in shrimp trawlers’ bycatch.

Read the full story at JDNews.com