March 19, 2019 — North Carolina’s commercial fishermen are bracing for a fight over actions taken by the state’s Marine Fisheries Commissioners that forced a ban on the use of all gillnets in the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers.
The controversial action was a follow-up to a February meeting where a no-possession limit of striped bass was put into place, which is essentially a closed-season for both commercial and recreational fishermen in Central Southern Management Area of the state. At the same meeting, the commission requested that Department of Marine Fisheries Director Steve Murphey issue an additional proclamation restricting the use of all gillnets in the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers. Murphey chose not to issue the proclamation.
In a March 4 letter to the commission, Murphey wrote that he carefully considered the issue but concluded that scientific data does not support the management measure.
“While I respect the concerns of both the public and the MFC, after careful consideration I have concluded that such a measure is not supported by the scientific data that support gill nets as the primary or even the most significant source of discard mortality,” he wrote.
Gill nets are not the primary or even the most significant source of discard mortality in the Central Southern Management Area striped bass fishery, according to the department.
“This letter and Supplement A acknowledge discards in both the recreational and commercial industry, but it also points out that gill net restrictions already in place have resulted in significant reductions in striped bass discards and that recreational discards are increasing in recent years,” said Murphey.