Saving Seafood

North Carolina Fisheries Association Releases Weekly Update for March 7, 2016

March 7, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

INFO NEEDED!

Thanks to the efforts of Aundrea O’Neal at Beaufort Inlet Seafood, NCFA now has the information needed to plug into our database for vital information for those fishermen who pack at that facility. Our biologist, David Bush, needs that information to quantify how regulations may impact fishermen. For example, our new database will include the fishermen’s name, address, phone, email if any, gear type used, areas fished and targeted species.

Whether it’s to assess potential regulations or to fight what we perceive as overzealous regulations by state and/or federal regulators, we need this data to make it easier for David to compile it.

We appeal to you to make this information available, so if you need more information, please contact Aundrea at Beaufort Inlet Seafood and she’ll tell you how it’s done. Her contact info is: Beaufort Inlet Seafood: (252) 504-2036 Cell: (252) 503-8302

MONKFISH & REGULATIONS:

Monkfish, or the “poor man’s lobster” is really good! For those that appreciate monkfish but can’t find it at your favorite fish market, consider this:

Last week I was in Dare County and one of the meetings I attended was the monkfish meeting on Thursday evening at the DMF office in Manteo. There were a total of 4 at the meeting: 3 DMF employees and me. One might wonder why fishermen aren’t taking the time to attend an information meeting about monkfish. Consider this: by law, they can only fish for about 4 weeks in March/April. They can only fish between 2 & 3 miles in the ocean. It’s illegal to fish for monkfish in federal waters, which begins at the 3 mile mark. They can only fish if the water temps are under 52 degrees.

Rationale? Not so much for monkfish, but “other issues”, such as sea turtles. If the temps are above 52 degrees, there is a better possibility of interaction with sea turtles, so the fishery closes. Inside of 2 miles there is a possibility of interaction with marine mammals.

Point being this: with the restrictions outlined above, there is not much of an incentive for a fishermen to target monkfish. As a result, the landings will be minimal in North Carolina, not because there aren’t any monkfish, but because there is not an adequate economic incentive to fish for them. Those who are always proclaiming that the sky is falling will then cite the declining landings and allege that commercial fishermen are catching them all! It’s a vicious cycle that is not unique to monkfish!

Meanwhile, a rash of letters to the editor recently allege that commercial fishermen in North Carolina have few regulations!

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.

God bless, Jerry

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CALENDAR

Mar 7-11 SAFMC meeting in Jekyll Island, GA

Mar 17; 4:00pm; MFC Sea Turtle Advisors; DEQ office; Washington, NC

Apr 12-14; MAFMC meeting in Montauk, NY 

View a PDF of the weekly update

Would you eat dogfish? How about smoked dogfish beignets with a red pepper aioli?

March 8, 2016 — Dogfish, aka spiny dogfish, dogfish shark, or Cape shark is small species of shark caught commercially along the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to North Carolina. On Cape Cod, it’s relatively easy to catch using longline or gillnets within 10 miles of Chatham, Mass.

“In the summertime we find the dogfish literally as soon as we fall outside the harbour,” says Nick Muto, a Cape Cod fisherman, and a member of board of directors for the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “We have miles of dogfish.”

Dogfish has become abundant in the waters off New England, and codfish has all but disappeared due to the confluence of warming oceans, says Muto.

“But out of that has risen this emerging dogfish fishery that has become a real building block of our harbor.”

Abundant it may be. But Americans aren’t yet buying it.

It might be an image problem. Or maybe the name “dogfish” is enough to turn seafood consumers away. Maybe it’s the taste.

Whatever it is, the abundant fish has been seen in the US as a lower-valued species — “trash fish” — so that much of the catch is exported overseas.

Read the full story at PRI

North Carolina Fisheries Association Releases Catch Summit info

March 2, 2016 — One final reminder about the NC Catch Summit coming up next week! This appeal is for all fishermen and interested folks. The Secretary of DEQ, the Deputy Secretary and the Acting Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries will be in attendance at the Clambake on Monday night!!

Please try to attend the Clambake and/or the event during the day on Tuesday in Beaufort. There is no charge for attending!

The Dinner & the Summit are completely free but you have to register (for the head count) at: email: 

rjohnson@hydecountync.gov

or call Rosemary Johnson at 252.926.4474.

Monday * March 7 * Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center; Harkers Island

5:30-8:30 Carteret Catch Down East Clambake & Frogmore Stew Dinner

Speaker: Wes Stepp, owner of Red Sky Cafe & author of “Tastefully Fit”

*Free trolley service will be available from the Beaufort Inn to the Museum

Tuesday * March 8 * Auditorium, NC Maritime Museum, 315 Front Street; Beaufort

8:30-9:00 Registration * Coffee & pastries

9:00-9:15 Host Welcome * Pam Morris, President, Carteret Catch

Conference Welcome * Jimmy Johnson, President, NC Catch

9:15-10:00 NC Commercial Fisheries: Economic Values, Trends, & Growth Potential

Presenter: Dr. Jane Harrison, Coastal Economics Specialist, North Carolina Sea Grant

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-11:00 Sett ing Seafood Trends: How Chefs Do It

Moderator: Libby Eaton, Bistro-By-The-Sea

Panelists: Jeff Barney, Saxapahaw General Store; Wes Stepp, Red Sky Cafe; and Sandy Howard, Amos Mosquitos

11:00-11:45 Ocracoke Island: A Case Study of Successful Seafood Tourism

Moderator: Alton Ballance, NCCAT

Panelists: Hardy & Patt y Plyler, Ocracoke Fish Company; Vince O’ Neal, Pony Island Restaurant; TBA

11:45-12:30 Diamonds in the Rough: Local Success Stories

Moderator: Jess Hawkins, Carolina Eco-Tours

Panelists: Eddie & Alison Willis, Mr. Big/Core Sound Seafood; Fabian Botta, Ruddy Duck Tavern; and Mark Hooper, Hooper Family Seafood

12:30-2:00 Lunch – Generously sponsored by Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative

2:00-2:45 Cultivating Customers: Insights from Retail Seafood Markets

Moderator: John Day, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University

Panelists: Haag & Son’s Seafood; Fishtowne Seafood; TBA

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00-3:45 NC Seafood: It Tastes Great & It’s Good for You Too!

Presenters: Dr. David Green, NCSU; Candace Morris, ECU graduate student; and Sue Way, East Carteret High School

3:45:4:00 2016 NC Catch Summit Conclusion: Pam Morris and Jimmy Johnson

4:00-4:30 Networking and information tables available

Fishermen, restaurant, retail & wholesale folks who are able are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and attend part or all of it. There are accommodations available at Beaufort Inn (1.800.726.0321) at a very reasonable rate, if needed. 

View a PDF of the Catch Summit poster

NORTH CAROLINA: Director of Marine Fisheries resigns abruptly

February 29, 2016 — In a move that surprised commercial and recreational fishermen alike, Dr. Louis Daniel, III resigned as director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries this afternoon.

John Evans, chief deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality sent an e-mail to all NCDEQ personnel that Daniel had stepped down, effective immediately, and that Col. Jim Kelley of the N.C. Marine Patrol would serve as acting director until a replacement for Daniel is selected.

Daniel, who received his B.A. in Biology from Wake Forest University, a M.S. in Marine Science from the College of Charleston, and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from the College of William and Mary, School of Marine Science, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, followed Preston Pate as the DMF director on Feb. 1, 2007.

Daniel worked a year with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before joining DMF as a biological supervisor in 1995. Before being appointed director, he served nine years as an executive assistant to director Pate, working extensively with the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC). Daniel served as chairman of the SAFMC from 2004 to 2006.

Daniel began as the North Carolina commissioner to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2007 and was elected ASMFC Chair in 2013. He is a recipient of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Distinguished Service Award and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Outstanding Service Award.

Read the full story at North Carolina Sportsman

NORTH CAROLINA: Federal Closure Looms Over Cobia Season

February 25, 2016 — The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted in late February to reduce the daily creel limit for cobia from two fish to one in state waters, and fisheries officials are hoping to find more ways to delay a federal closure of the season that could come as soon as June 15.

Rereational fishermen caught almost a million pounds over their annual catch limit of 630,000 pounds in Atlantic Ocean waters north of the Florida-Georgia line last year, according to NOAA Fisheries, and federal regulations mandates a reduction in harvest this year.`

Dr. Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, hopes that the creel-limit reduction, and perhaps an increase in the minimum size could allow North Carolina fishermen to have their season extended. States have an understanding with NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) that measures adopted to reduce state-by-state catches could result in a longer 2016 season.

At its Feb. 17-19 meeting in Wrightsville Beach, the Commission voted 7-0, with Sammy Corbett, the chairman, abstaining, to lower the daily creel limit from two fish to one, effective Feb. 27. The NCDMF has asked the ASFMC how long raising the size minimum from 32 to 36 or 40 inches might extend the season.

Read the full story at the North Carolina Sportsman

NORTH CAROLINA FISHERIES ASSOCIATION: NC Catch Summit 2016 Info

February 24, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

As you know, Carteret Catch is hosting this years NC Catch Seafood Summit March 7 – 8th.

I would like to pass along these details in particular to the membership: Monday, March 7th is the Kick-off Clam Bake-Frogmore Stew Dinner at the Core Sound Museum (5:30 – 8:30) with a special guest speaker or two and the Summit is the next day, Tuesday, March 8 at the Maritime Museum in Beaufort 9:00 – 4:00p.

The Dinner & the Summit are completely free but you have to register (for the head count) at: email:
rjohnson@hydecountync.gov
or call Rosemary Johnson at 252.926.4474.

Fishermen, restaurant, retail & wholesale folks who are able are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and attend part or all of it. There are accommodations available at Beaufort Inn (1.800.726.0321) at a very reasonable rate, if needed.

Learn more about the 5th Annual NC Catch Summit

NORTH CAROLINA: Flounder and semantics heat up fisheries meeting

February 19, 2016 — WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Before state officials decide how to better regulate commercial fishing licenses, they’ll have to answer an important question — ‘just who is a commercial fisherman?’

When members of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission met in Wrightsville Beach this week — their first meeting of 2016 — updating the state’s 17-year-old criteria for commercial fishermen was a hot topic. And it’s one that’s sure to be contentious — when Commissioner Alison Willis proposed a subcommittee to study the issue, she said she was putting her head on the chopping block.

By the time her motion was worded as carefully as possible, it was a paragraph long.

“And here I was thinking that it was the lawyers that got paid by the word,” Phillip Reynolds, the commission’s legal council, joked.

But commissioners agreed they would rather be cautious than concise after a year of meetings marked by emotional exchanges, audience outbursts and even threats. At this week’s three-day meeting, members tackled topics from shellfish management to fishing licenses and tied up loose ends on the southern flounder management plan changes that caused so much controversy in 2015.

Read the full story at Star News Online

NORTH CAROLINA: Proposed closure of Cobia fishing season has many concerned

February 17, 2016 — WILMINGTON, NC – Fisherman packed into the Blockade Runner on Wednesday night to voice their concerns and frustrations about the possibility of closing the recreational Cobia fishing season in June.

Louis Daniel, the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, said the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is responsible for managing Cobia from the Florida Keys up through New York.

The Fishery Management Plan for Cobia sets an allowable recreational catch limit and if that limit is exceeded, then the council has to shorten the season to keep the harvest rates below the catch limit. Daniel said that is a federal law that they have to follow.

“We don’t really have a choice in whether or not there is a closure,” said Daniel. “Their only option would be to go against the federal regulation.”

The federal proposal is to close the season on June 15. The National Marine Fisheries Service, however, is waiting to see if North Carolina drops the Cobia bag limit from two fish to one fish.

If the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries votes to drop the bag limit, Daniel is hopeful the National Marine Fisheries Service will do some more calculations and be able to extend the season a little longer.

Read the full story at WECT

Devices to Keep Fish Out of North Carolina Shrimp Nets Prove Surprisingly Effective

February 15, 2016 — Shrimpers and biologists surprised the experts last summer by using modified trawl nets that drastically reduced the amount of popular fish caught and discarded.

The nets were fitted with a variety of devices beyond what is already required, including “spooker cones” that scare away fish before they enter the net, additional escape openings called fisheyes, and tailbags with larger mesh. The tailbag is where the catch collects at the end of the net.

The test trawls gathered 77 tons of fish and shrimp. The most effective test nets were fitted with two fisheyes and a tailbag with a mesh width of 1 7/8 inches. That net caught 211 pounds of shrimp and 183 pounds of fish.

Brown called that a stunning result because bycatch is typically triple the amount of shrimp. Some estimates put bycatch at four to five times the shrimp haul.

The experimental net produced another surprise: It caught more shrimp than the control net, which had no bycatch reduction devices.

Biologists and fishermen were amazed how effective the test devices were, said Kevin Brown, a gear development biologist with the Division of Marine Fisheries.

“I am pleasantly shocked at where we are,” he said.

The shrimping industry is under pressure to reduce bycatch, the unintended entrapment of highly regarded marine species, including sea turtles. The trawl nets are pulled behind the boat near the bottom of the sound.

Devices that deflect turtles and help fish avoid or escape the nets have been required for years, but the amount of bycatch is still about three times that of the targeted seafood of shrimp. Typically, the bycatch fish are juveniles not fit for market and are discarded overboard.

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot 

North Carolina coast included in potential off-shore drilling plan

February 10, 2016 — There might be no Kure for North Carolina’s off-shore drilling problem. One of eight potential planning areas for drilling — as part of the national 2017-22 Oil and Gas Leasing Program — will be off the coast of Kure Beach, North Carolina. This plan, if approved, would drill about 80 percent of the estimated undiscovered, technically available oil and gas resources within the United States.  Residents of Kure Beach are concerned for a drilling accident that could parallel the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010.  David Rogers, state director of Environment North Carolina, said this plan has downsides if it is approved.

“Number one, there is a multitude of marine mammals and fish species that rely on this area,” Rogers said. “Number two, this area relies on tourism and people come from all over the world to visit our beaches. The possibility of a spill will be devastating and destroy the tourist industry.” Steve Ross, a research professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, said the geology of the area is also important to consider when thinking about drilling.  “Drilling in the Gulf Stream, in hurricane zone and in deep water, is risky,” Ross said. “Drilling in high currents and deep water is dangerous and the possibilities of accidents can go up.” Economically, off-shore drilling could also jeopardize the coastal areas of North Carolina and ruin economies if an accident were to occur. “The coastal North Carolina economy is based on tourism and vibrant fishing economy,” said Mike Giles, a coastal advocate for the North Carolina Coastal Federation. “An accident would affect the entire east coast of North Carolina, so over 100 municipalities on the east coast have come up opposing off shore drilling.”

Read the full story at the Daily Tar Heel