Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Proposal to regulate coastal fishing draws strong differences of opinion

October 17, 2019 — A proposed coastal fishing regulation designed to protect species is drawing sharp differences of opinion from some of those affected.

Some think the measure is necessary to prevent continued loss of important fish species.

Others think the measure won’t work as intended and could prove catastrophic for coastal fishing industries.

Tom Roller is a professional fishing guide in Beaufort who brings his clients to sounds, bays, inlets and creeks to cast for red drum, speckled sea trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel.

But his bread and butter, he said, is Southern flounder.

“They are extremely important to my business, but we don’t catch Southerns like we used to because they aren’t here anymore,” he said. “They are an example of how to overfish something and not do anything.”

The recreational Southern flounder fishery is closed for the rest of the year since the catch exceeded its target defined by the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan.

Commercial landings of Southern flounder, according to the N.C. Wildlife Federation, have declined 88 percent over the past two decades. A landing is the amount of fish harvested at sea and brought to land.

Read the full story at the Carolina Public Press

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’s summer flounder deemed ‘overfished’

July 30, 2019 — One of the US state of North Carolina’s most valuable stocks has been deemed “overfished” and harvesters will likely face steep cuts to catch limits, Carolina Coast Online reported.

According to the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries, the most recent stock assessment for southern flounder shows that it is both “overfished” and undergoing “overfishing”, key designations that will trigger cuts.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Young fish might soon be the ones that get away from North Carolina fishermen

June 21, 2019 — Fishermen won’t be able to catch certain species of fish in North Carolina unless they meet minimum size standards set by state regulators under a proposal that cleared the House on Thursday.

House Bill 483, dubbed “Let Them Spawn,” directs the state Marine Fisheries Commission to set minimum sizes for spot, Atlantic croaker, kingfish, striped mullet, southern flounder and bluefish. The sizes will be based on biological data to ensure that 75 percent of juvenile fish in each species will be able to reach maturity and spawn at least once.

The issue pits recreational anglers against commercial fishermen and was debated for about two hours over two days before the House voted 58-47 on final approval – a preliminary vote Wednesday was even closer, at 58-54 – sending the measure to the Senate.

Read the full story at WRAL

N.C. Study: Warmer Water Linked to Higher Proportion of Male Flounder

April 30, 2019 — If southern flounder live in warmer water during a critical window of early development, a higher percentage become male – more than 90 percent in some cases – research from North Carolina State University found. Having a high proportion of adult males over the long term could threaten both wild populations and the valuable commercial fishing industry, which depends on larger female flounder.

Field research and lab experiments showed that a four-degree Celsius difference in average water temperature during juvenile development shifted the male-female ratio from about 50-50 to as much as 94-6, says Jamie Honeycutt, an NC State postdoctoral researcher and lead author of an article about the research in Scientific Reports. That difference is within the range of expected ocean temperature increases under climate change models.

Environmental factors such as water temperature influence sex determination in southern flounder, as well as in other fish and reptiles, Honeycutt explains. Flounder stick to shallow waters that serve as nurseries until after they become male or a female, hanging around estuaries until reaching maturity before returning to the ocean to spawn at about age 2.

“We think that southern flounder have a genetic sex-determining system similar to humans, who have two X chromosomes for a female and an X and a Y for a male. In flounder, if an individual is a genetic male, it is destined to be male,” Honeycutt says. “However, if a genetic female is exposed to temperature extremes, then it can develop as a functioning male.”

Read the full story at North Carolina State University

High hopes to diversify US marine finfish aquaculture

March 13, 2019 — Spotted sea trout, wolffish, tripletail, California halibut, southern flounder, lumpfish and greater amberjack are amongst the prime candidate species that might allow for the US to diversify its marine finfish aquaculture sector.

So argued members of a distinguished panel of researchers during a special session of Aquaculture 2019 in New Orleans on 10 March – a session that offered some hope that diversification could help the country expand its marine finfish production and to reduce its $15 billion seafood deficit.

Eric Saillant from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Marine Aquaculture Centre, outlined the potential and pitfalls facing tripletail production, noting that “current data suggest that tripletail could become a successful species for commercial marine aquaculture, assuming that bottlenecks in the hatchery [phase] can be overcome.”

Read the full story at The Fish Site

NORTH CAROLINA: Update on Southern Flounder Lawsuit Hearing

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

Judge issues a temporary restraining order on southern flounder.

Order only affects future regulations, not size limit or escape panels or minimum mesh size

A hearing was held this morning in the Superior Court courtroom at the Carteret County Courthouse regarding our lawsuit on Southern Flounder. Scheduled for 10:00, the Judge started the hearing 30 minutes early and it ended about 10:15.

Our attorneys were both present with Steve Weeks speaking on our behalf, and Philip Reynolds speaking for the State.

Although Mr. Reynolds made arguments against us getting a Temporary Restraining Order, or TRO, the Judge issued the order on our behalf until the next hearing, which has not yet been scheduled but will probably be the week of October 10th. (Note that I said probably, just don’t know yet.)

What does this mean to you as a fisherman?

The rules adopted in January of this year REMAIN IN PLACE. However, no future rules scheduled to take effect will not, pending the results of the next hearing, which will be to determine a Permanent Injunction. At that time, everything the MFC adopted through the Supplement of the Southern Flounder FMP will be on the table.

In other words, the 15 inch minimum size limit remains in place as does the escape panels and minimum mesh size that were adopted in January.

The recreational and commercial closures and quota on pound nets is put on hold.

We’ll let you know asap when we hear about the next court date, but it will be very important for fishermen to be in attendance!

NORTH CAROLINA: Counties Join Commercial Fishermen in Lawsuit

September 27, 2016 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

Several coastal counties have joined with commercial fishermen in litigation against the State of North Carolina regarding last year’s decision by the Marine Fisheries Commission to adopt new regulations on the southern flounder fishery by using the “Supplement” process. Stevenson Weeks, an attorney with Wheatly, Wheatly, Weeks, Lupton & Massie of Beaufort and Todd Roessler attorney with Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton of Raleigh, are representing the plaintiffs. The complaint was filed today in Carteret County Superior Court.

The plaintiffs include the North Carolina Fisheries Association, Inc.; Carteret County Fisherman’s Association, Inc.; County of Carteret; County of Dare; County of Hyde.

Defendants served with the complaint are the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality, Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries and all members of the Marine Fisheries Commission.

The practical effect of the litigation is to stop the closure of the recreational and commercial southern flounder fisheries, scheduled to take effect this fall.

Brent Fulcher, Board Chairman of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, said “Filing a lawsuit is the last resort for us. We testified many times last year before the Marine Fisheries Commission that using the supplement is the wrong approach and should be managed by a full-blown amendment that allows full public participation. Our advice was totally ignored.”

“In my 29 years of involvement with these fisheries issues, this is only the second time that we filed litigation against the Division of Marine Fisheries”, said Jerry Schill, President of the Fisheries Association. “Fishermen must have confidence in the process for management to be successful, but with the Commission and the Division ignoring the law and even their own guidelines, we have no other option left.”

The 30-page complaint alleges the management measures made by the defendants were arbitrary and based on inadequate scientific data using an abbreviated regulatory process and did so in violation of the North Carolina Open Meetings Laws.

Frustrated fishermen meet with new North Carolina fisheries director

August 11, 2016 — MANTEO, N.C. — About 50 exasperated, even angry, commercial fishermen gathered Monday to meet the new director of the North Carolina agency that governs how these watermen make a living.

They came to the Dare County offices from towns east and west of the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, ranging from Hatteras Village to Elizabeth City. They came to voice frustrations and ask questions about what they believe are unfair and arbitrary regulations that shrink their livelihood.

Southern flounder harvest restrictions and sea turtle conservation efforts were sore points.

Sea turtles are best with “taters and onions,” said Sharon Peele Kennedy, a member of the Board of Directors for NC Catch, a group that advocates for local fishing and seafood.

This fight is old for fishermen on the Outer Banks, but their opponent has a new face: Braxton Davis, who in April became director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and the Division of Coastal Management after the last director resigned.

In his new job, the watermen demanded he at least listen, tell the truth and be willing to make what they call common-sense changes in the rules that prevent them from setting their nets.

For the most part, the men spoke in thick coastal accents, each carried a three-day growth of beard, and had arms and faces weathered and brown. A few women in the audience were equally adamant about the cause. The language was occasionally salty.

But they came with data, documents and experience to buttress their arguments.

“We are the science,” a veteran waterman said. “We’re your biggest environmentalists.”

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot