Saving Seafood

North Carolina Sees Big Returns in Coastal Habitat Programs

April 28, 2016 — RALEIGH, N.C. — Results of a study published Tuesday show that coastal habitat enhancement programs managed by the state fisheries agency provide $4 in benefits for every $1 invested in the coastal region.

The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership contracted with RTI International to study the benefits and costs of three programs under the state Division of Marine Fisheries: the Shellfish Rehabilitation Program, Oyster Sanctuary Program and Artificial Reef Program. The study focused on how these programs benefit and contribute to communities in the region.

According to the report, the programs generate economic benefits in numerous categories. Between 2010 and 2015, with just over $20 million in government and private investments, North Carolina restoration and habitat enhancement activ­ities supported over 500 acres of habitat and provided benefits that included commercial fishing, shellfish harvesting, recreational fishing, water quality improvement and shoreline stabilization. Cost-benefit analysis showed returns that ranged from $2 to more than $12 for every dollar invested.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

NORTH CAROLINA: Fraught year plunges fishermen into politics

April 25, 2016 — WILMINGTON, NC — When he took the podium at an N.C. Recreational Fishing Alliance meeting last week in Wilmington, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, was about the only person in a suit and tie. Outfitted in baseball caps and T-shirts emblazoned with leaping marlins and big-mouth bass, some in the audience, Dixon suspected, might be in unfamiliar waters.

“Some of you in here don’t even know the definition of politics, and here you are trying to get involved in politics,” he said. Before diving into a speech on fisheries, Dixon broke down that definition.

“‘Poli,’ which means many,” he explained. “‘Ticks’: blood-sucking parasites.”

The crowd roared with laughter, and after the past year in North Carolina fisheries management you’d be hard-pressed to find a fisherman in the room who disagreed. A fight over flounder catch restrictions pitted commercial and recreational fishermen against each other and pulled state legislators into the fray; state cuts to cobia catch roiled sports-fishermen again; and in February Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel abruptly resigned and moved to shellfish sanitation.

Just last week, the state Department of Environmental Quality gave coastal management director Braxton Davis control of marine fisheries. A news release states the divisions will stay separate, but officials will “examine ways in which the two divisions can achieve efficiencies in operations.”

Months of turmoil have left local anglers concerned the state is ignoring possible overfishing of some species, especially in North Carolina’s delicate estuaries. At the RFA meeting, Dixon was joined by other leaders — Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover; Rep. John Bell, R-Craven; Rep. Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland; and aides to Congressman David Rouzer — who told fishermen that they’re listening.

Read the full story at Star News Online

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update: April 18, 2016

April 19, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

HOUSE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS FISHERIES REFORM ACT:

The House Select Committee on Wildlife Resources, chaired by Rep. John Bell, has scheduled their next meeting on Wednesday, April 20th, in Raleigh. The meeting will be in Room 544 of the Legislative Office Building and the agenda will include a Fisheries Reform Act and marine fisheries overview. Jerry & David will be there and encourage others to attend.

ADDITION TO THE HALF PERCENT PROGRAM:

Quality Seafood Company of Elizabeth City and their fishermen will be a welcome addition to our “Half Percent” program! The company has been a longtime supporter of NCFA but recently decided to increase their support through the program that deducts one half of one percent of the boat’s net when they pack out. Quality will then match that and forward to NCFA. Each fisherman is a member by participating.

The program was the idea of the late William Ellis Smith of Luther Smith & Son in Atlantic, NC. It was his vision and advocacy of the program that has been the reason for our organization to expand beyond a one person office. William Ellis was killed in an accident in Wanchese in 1991 and is sorely missed, but remembered for his love for commercial fishing in general and NCFA in particular.

Many thanks to Billy & Russell Barclift, Quality Seafood Company and the fishermen who pack with them for participating in the half percent program!

We encourage others to do likewise, so if you would like more information about it, call us. If you would like details on how easy it is to set it up, give Aundrea O’Neal of Beaufort Inlet Seafood a call and she’ll fill you in. Her number is: (252) 503-8302.

ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS ADVISORY PANEL CONFERENCE CALL:

The Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel will be meeting via conference call Thursday, April

21, at 10:00 am to review current status of H.R.3070 regarding the opening of the Block Island

Transit Zone to recreational striped bass fishing, to discuss the Atlantic squid resource as it

relates to striped bass management, to elect an Advisory Panel Chairman and Vice Chairman

and to discuss any other pertinent current events.

For questions, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 1-703-842-0740.

Dial 1-888-394-8197 and enter Passcode: 815277 to join conference call.

Note from NCFA: Although the primary item of this is recreational striped bass fishing, it should be of interest to listen to the discussion about “the Atlantic squid resource as it relates to striped bass management…”.

COBIA MEETING:

The South Atlantic & Mid Atlantic Councils will hold a meeting to discuss cobia on Monday, May 9th, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the Hilton in Kill Devil Hills. To participate in the webinar, register here:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2733536913517393923

ON THE ROAD:

Jerry & David attended several meetings last week, and will provide a synopsis via a special update later this week. David attended the weeklong Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council in Montauk, NY. Jerry attended several meetings in Morehead City and Washington: Oyster Advisory Committee, NMFS Skimmer Trawl meeting, Finfish Committee (cobia), and the Shellfish/Crustacean Committee. He also participated in a conference call concerning the H2B labor issues for the crab processors.

SOUTHERN FLOUNDER:

Thanks to those of you who have contributed to our Southern Flounder Fund. Those funds will be used exclusively for issues related to southern flounder, either legally or other avenues to address the situation.

If you have not yet contributed, please do so ASAP!

Send your donations to:

NCFA

2807 Neuse Blvd; Suite 11

New Bern, NC 28562

Please make your check out to NCFA/Southern Flounder Fund or to the NC Fisheries Association and be sure to put Southern Flounder Fund in the memo.

 

CALENDAR

Apr. 20; 2:00pm: House Select Cmte on Wildlife Resources; 544 LOB; Raleigh

Apr 25; North Carolina General Assembly convenes for the Short Session

May 2; Noon; NCFA Board meeting; Civic Center, Washington NC

May 2-5; ASMFC Spring Meeting; Westin; Alexandria, VA

May 10; 5:30 – 7:30pm; Legislative Reception; Raleigh NC

May 18-20; MFC meeting; Civic Center; Morehead City

June 13-17; SAFMC meeting; Cocoa Beach, FL

June 14-16; MAFMC meeting; Newark, DE

Councils to Hold Cobia Management Meetings in N.C.

April 19, 2016 — SAVE THE DATE – May 9, 2016!
Councils to Hold a Q&A Public Meeting on Cobia Management

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will hold a Q&A Public Meeting in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to address cobia management issues.

DATE: May 9, 2016

TIME: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

LOCATION: The meeting is being held in Kitty Hawk, NC and is also being broadcast via webinar. Registration for the webinar only is required – see below for registration link.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

 

New York Times spotlights perils faced by Atlantic scallop fleet

April 18, 2016 – In an April 15 story, the New York Times described in detail the challenges faced at sea by members of the limited access scallop fleet. The story covered the rescue of the Carolina Queen III, which ran aground off the Rockaways Feb. 25, during a storm with waves cresting as high as 14 feet. The following is an excerpt from the story:

Scallop fishing may not conjure up the derring-do of those catching crabs in the icy waters of the Bering Strait or the exploits of long-line tuna fisherman chronicled on shows like “The Deadliest Catch.” But the most dangerous fishing grounds in America remain those off the Northeast Coast — more dangerous than the Bering Sea, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From 2000 to 2009, the years covered by the agency’s data, 504 people died while fishing at sea and 124 of them were in the Northeast.

The scallop industry had the second-highest rate of fatalities: 425 deaths per 100,000 workers. Among all workers in the United States over the same period, according to the C.D.C., there were four deaths per 100,000 workers. The size of the crew and the time at sea contribute to the dangers.

Drew Minkiewicz, a lawyer who represents the Fisheries Survival Fund, said that since 2010, the number of vessels permitted to fish for scallops has been limited, and with fewer unregistered ships at sea, there have been fewer accidents.

The Atlantic sea scallop — Placopecten magellanicus — has been popular since the 1950s, when Norwegian immigrants first scoured the seas south of New Bedford, Mass. The supply could swing between scarcity and plenty, but in the 1980s huge algae blooms known as brown tides appeared several years in a row and threatened to destroy the scallops’ ecosystem on the East Coast. Even after those tides passed, the industry almost did itself in by overfishing. Only after regulations were passed in the 1990s and the industry banded together with the scientific community to improve fishing techniques did the fisheries rebound.

Now, scalloping along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to North Carolina is among the most lucrative fishing in the world. In 2014, the catch was estimated to be worth more than $424 million.

The industry operates under strict guidelines, many aimed at ensuring sustainability of the fisheries. To fish some areas with known scallop beds, a permit is needed, and the haul is capped. Open-sea fishing, on the other hand, is restricted only by the annual 32-days-at-sea limit.

The clock is always ticking.

“We get so few days to go out, we have to find every efficiency to maximize our days at sea,” said Joe Gilbert, who owns Empire Fisheries and, as captain of a boat called the Rigulus, is part of the tight-knit scalloping community.

In preparation for the Carolina Queen’s voyage, the crew would have spent days getting ready, buying $3,000 in groceries, loading more than 20,000 pounds of ice and prepping the equipment on the twin-dredge vessel.

The vessel steamed north from the Chesapeake Bay, traveling 15 hours to reach the coast off New Jersey, where the crew would probably have started fishing. Then the work would begin.

It is pretty standard for a crew to work eight hours on and take four hours off, but in reality it often is more like nine hours on and three off. If you are a good sleeper, you are lucky to get two hours’ shut-eye before heading back on deck.

The huge tows scouring the ocean bed for scallops dredge for about 50 minutes and are then hauled up, their catch dumped on deck before the tows are reset and plunged back into the water, a process that can be done in as little as 10 minutes.

While the dredge did its work, the crew on duty on the Carolina Queen sorted through the muddy mix of rocks and sand and other flotsam on the ship’s deck, looking for the wavy round shells of the scallops.

“The biggest danger is handling the gear on deck,” Mr. Gilbert said. “It is very heavy gear on a pitching deck, and you get a lot of injured feet, injured hands.”

Once the scallops are sorted, according to industry regulations, they must be shucked by hand.

The crew spends hours opening the shells and slicing out the abductor muscle of the mollusks — the fat, tasty morsel that winds up on plates at a restaurants like Oceana in Midtown Manhattan, where a plate of sea scallops à la plancha costs as much as $33.

A single boat can haul 4,000 pounds in a day.

Read the full story at the New York Times

Striped bass regulations vary across North Carolina

April 14, 2016 — Striped bass regulations vary according to the body of water across North Carolina, including five distinct areas along the coast.

Stripers moving up the Roanoke River to spawn must come in from the Atlantic Ocean Management Area and pass through the Albemarle Sound Management Area before reaching the Roanoke River Management Area. These fish are subject to different regulations as they journey from the ocean to the spawning grounds near Weldon.

The Albemarle Sound Management Area begins at Oregon Inlet and extends inland to the mouths of the Roanoke, Cashie, Middle and Eastmost Rivers near Plymouth. This includes the northern end of the Pamlico Sound, Roanoke Sound, Croatan Sound, Currituck Sound and Albemarle Sound. It also includes all rivers and creeks feeding into these sounds inland to Edenton. Effective Jan. 1, striper season in the ASMA is open all year unless the annual quota of 68,750 pounds is caught. Eighteen inches is the minimum size, and fishermen may keep two per day.

See the full story at the North Carolina Sportsman

Congressman Walter Jones Opposes More Federal Restrictions on ENC Waters

The following was released by the office of Congressman Walter Jones (NC-3):

April 11, 2016 — Washington, D.C. – Last week, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) joined Dare and Carteret counties in opposing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) proposed expansion of the Monitor Sanctuary off the Eastern North Carolina coast.  The existing sanctuary protects the remains of the USS Monitor, a Civil War ironclad that sank in December 1862.  In January, NOAA published proposals to significantly expand the Monitor Sanctuary.   Dare and Carteret counties subsequently passed public resolutions opposing expansion due to concerns they may be used in the future to restrict public access to large areas of federal waters off the North Carolina coast.

“There is no need for new designations or access restrictions for fishermen and boaters that may flow from them in the future,” said Congressman Jones.

Congressman Jones has long been an advocate for Eastern North Carolina fishermen by fighting against overreaching government regulations on recreational and commercial fishing.  He has also secured much-needed money for dredging at Morehead City Harbor, and Oregon, Hatteras, and New River Inlets, in addition to fighting the Obama administration’s assault on fishing access through unilateral marine monument designation.  

For additional information, please contact Maria Jeffrey in Congressman Jones’ office at (202) 225-3415 or at maria.jeffrey@mail.house.gov.

Reducing Bycatch in Shrimp Trawlers: Could Efforts in North Carolina Provide a Solution?

April 5, 2016 — Bycatch is a huge problem for the US shrimp industry, which is under pressure to reduce the unintended entrapment of marine species. Devices that deflect turtles and help fish avoid or escape the nets have been necessary for years, and federal law requires nets to be fitted with devices that reduce bycatch by 30 per cent but despite this, the amount of bycatch is still about three times that of the targeted shrimp (North Carolina Wildlife Federation).

A report released by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation described the amount of bycatch in the state as being unsustainably high and unacceptable at about three times that of the targeted shrimp.

But North Carolina’s shrimp industry is huge — fishermen harvested 14.1 million US dollars worth of shrimp in 2014, and nearly 200 commercial fishermen currently work in the industry.

In light of the bycatch, North Carolina is now taking steps to find a solution. In 2015 the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission established a group of fishermen, net makers, researchers, fish dealers and other stakeholders who gather and evaluate information on the effectiveness of various bycatch reduction devices or BRDs.

Among those tested are the composite panel with spooker cones (a cylindrical shaped device used to spook or scare fish to seek escape), additional escape openings called fisheyes and tailbags, also known as codends, the portion of the net that holds the shrimp catch.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

NORTH CAROLINA: Seismic testing companies say they will pursue NC coast

March 31, 2016 — EMERALD ISLE, N.C. — Several seismic testing companies said they are still trying to pursue the testing off our coast.

Here’s how it works: A large vessel tows a streamer, which emits sound waves to map the crust of the ocean along more than 400 miles of the NC coast.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation said the testing could impact multiple industries, from tourism to fishing and wildlife.

While several companies are waiting for their permits to get approved, officials along the coast said the data collected would be the first step needed toward off shore drilling.

Read the full story at WNCT

North Carolina Fisheries Association – Weekly Update for March 28, 2016

March 29, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

CARTERET COUNTY FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION is meeting on Saturday, April 9th at 6:30pm in Marshallberg. The group will be planning their annual Fish Fry scheduled for May, among some other things.

================================================================

SKIMMER TRAWLS:

Last week we listed information about potential new regs for skimmer trawls. For those of you who use skimmer trawls, you will receive a mailing from us in the next couple of days about this issue.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT!

After looking it over, contact us at the office or an NCFA Board member about your thoughts as we will be discussing the subject at our Board meeting next Monday in Washington. The list of Board members and their phone numbers is listed in the mailing. If you’d like to attend the Board meeting, feel free to do so and participate in the discussion. The meeting begins at noon at the Civic Center in Washington NC.

For more info, contact NCFA’s biologist, David Bush: (910) 777-1605, or by email.

NOAA Fisheries hosts public meetings in April to discuss potential skimmer trawl regulations in Southeast US:

NOAA Fisheries is considering new regulations in the shrimp fishery of the southeastern United States based on information indicating sea turtles are vulnerable to capture by skimmer trawls and tow times may not be as effective in reducing bycatch-related mortality as turtle excluder devices. The agency will host five public meetings around the region to discuss and receive input from fishermen and other constituents on alternatives to reduce sea turtle bycatch and mortality.

These public meetings are the first stage in a multi-step process required by the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure that Federal agencies evaluate the environmental impacts of major Federal actions. During these meetings, the public is provided with an opportunity to assist us in determining the scope of issues that require analysis. The analysis of issues and the environmental impacts of the proposed actions will be presented in a draft Environmental Impact Statement, which will be made available for public comment. The notice of intent to prepare the draft statement will be published in the Federal Register on March 15, 2016.

Additionally, we prepared a scoping document and a list of frequently asked questions as aids to the public on the upcoming scoping process. These documents are available on the NOAA Fisheries website at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/protected_resources/index.html. The scoping document describes the major issues, current management and legal requirements, and identifies potential management measures to reduce interactions, and in particular, lethal interactions, between sea turtles and trawl fisheries.

There are several meetings being held but the North Carolina meeting is:

Morehead City, NC — April 13, 2016, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., Crystal Coast Civic Center.

Scoping comments may also be submitted during a concurrent 45-day comment period. When they publish the draft EIS, it will also have a 45-day public comment period.

=================================================================

FROM THE DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES:

State seeking public comment on management options required to improve blue crab stock

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting public comment on management options for the blue crab fishery. The management measures are required under Amendment 2 to the N.C. Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan to improve the condition of the state’s blue crab stock.

Division staff will discuss the possible management measures and receive public comment at the following upcoming advisory committee meetings:

Southern Regional Advisory Committee

April 6, 5:30 p.m.

DMF Central District Office; Morehead City

Northern Regional Advisory Committee

April 7, 5:30 p.m.

DEQ Washington Regional Office; 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Shellfish/Crustacean Advisory Committee

April 14. 6 p.m.

DMF Central District Office; Morehead City

Additionally, comments can be directed by phone to division biologists Jason Rock at 252-948-3874 or Corrin Flora at 252-264-3911, or by email to Jason.Rock@ncdenr.gov or Corrin.Flora@ncdenr.gov.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to consider management action at its May meeting. Possible management options include:

* Increasing the minimum size limit for male and immature female crabs

* Establishing a seasonal size limit on peeler crabs

* Reducing the tolerance of sub-legal size blue crabs to a minimum of 5 percent and/or implementing gear modifications to reduce sublegal catch

* Eliminating the harvest of v-apron immature hard crab females

* Restricting the harvest of sponge crabs

* Prohibiting all harvest of sponge crabs and/or requiring sponge crab excluders in pots in specific areas

* Closing the crab spawning sanctuaries from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28 and possibly imposing further restriction

* Expanding existing and/or designating new crab spawning sanctuaries

* Closing the fishery by season and/or gear

* Gear modifications in the crab trawl fishery

Management measures will be implemented by proclamation following the commission’s May meeting.

Management action is required under Amendment 2 to the N.C. Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan, adopted by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission in November 2013. Amendment 2 uses an adaptive management framework based on the condition of the Blue Crab Traffic Light, which requires annual evaluation of three indicators to determine if any change in management is warranted. The indicators are adult abundance, the abundance of juvenile crabs in the stock (recruit abundance), and production (which evaluates the reproductive potential or resilience of the stock).

The annual evaluation has been completed, and management thresholds have been exceeded, requiring management action.

For more information, go to http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/home under “Hot Topics.”

SOUTHERN FLOUNDER:

Thanks to those of you who have contributed to our Southern Flounder Fund. Those funds will be used exclusively for issues related to southern flounder, either legally or other avenues to address the situation.

If you have not yet contributed, please do so ASAP!

Send your donations to:

NCFA

2807 Neuse Blvd; Suite 11

New Bern, NC 28562

Please make your check out to NCFA/Southern Flounder Fund or to the NC Fisheries Association and be sure to put Southern Flounder Fund in the memo.

==============================================================

CALENDAR

Apr 4; Noon; NCFA Board meeting; Civic Center; Washington NC

Apr 6; 5:30pm; MFC Southern Advisory Cmte; DMF office; Morehead City

Apr 7; 5:30pm; MFC Northern Advisory Cmte; DEQ office; Washington

Apr 9; 6:30pm; Carteret County Fishermen’s Association; Marshallberg

Apr 11; 6:00pm; Oyster/Hard Clam Advisors; DMF office; Morehead City

Apr 12-14; MAFMC meeting in Montauk, NY

Apr 13; 2:00-4:00pm; Skimmer Trawl meeting; Civic Center; Morehead City

Apr 13; 5:30pm; Finfish Advisors; DEQ office; Washington

Apr 14; 6:00pm; Shellfish/Crustacean Advisors; DMF office; Morehead City

Apr 25; North Carolina General Assembly convenes for the Short Session

May 2-5; ASMFC Spring Meeting; Westin; Alexandria, VA

May 18-20; MFC meeting; Civic Center; Morehead City

View a PDF of the Weekly Update