Tag Archives: N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission
N.C. Wildlife Federation Rule Making Petition’s aim: Gear bans or resource protection?
A conservation organization’s request that the state adopt stricter rules for shrimping and recreational spot and croaker isn’t sitting well with a local seafood industry advocacy group. Jerry Schill, president of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the state fishing industry, says the association thinks the petition for rulemaking from the N.C. Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the state’s natural resources, will lead to gear bans that could put shrimping in North Carolina in jeopardy. However, David Knight, NCWF policy consultant, said the petition is meant to protect fish and their habitat and actually assist fishing communities by doing so. The Southern Environmental Law Center presented a petition for rulemaking, on behalf of the NCWF, to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Nov. 17 in Kitty Hawk at the commission’s regular meeting. Read the rest here 08:57
Inshore trawling reduction sought by N.C. Wildlife Federation – a petition for rule making?
The N.C. Wildlife Federation announced on Nov. 2 its plans to file a petition for rule making that would designate all inside coastal waters along North Carolina’s coast as nursery areas to reduce by-catch mortality due to trawling. The Federation’s petition seeks amendments to several parts of North Carolina’s administrative code “in order to promote and ensure the viability and sustainability of North Carolina’s valuable fisheries resources for all citizens.” In doing so, it seeks to designate “all coastal fishing waters not otherwise designated as nursery areas as special, secondary nursery areas, 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.” Yes! of course! As expected, representatives of commercial fishing interests disagreed. Read the story here 14:57
Judge blocks closure of southern flounder fishing. Will it be appealed?
A Wake County Superior Court judge has issued an injunction preventing the 
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission from closing the entire southern flounder fishery from October 16 through January 1. During its November 2015 meeting at Jeanette’s Pier, the commission voted 6-3 to shut down both the commercial and recreational fisheries for southern flounder during the fourth quarter of 2016. A lawsuit was filed by the New Bern-based North Carolina Fisheries Association, the Carteret County Fishermen’s Association, as well as Dare, Hyde and Carteret counties, against the commission’s action, and resulted in a temporary restraining order being issued on Sept. 28. After two hours of testimony on Oct. 6 from attorneys representing the NCFA and the state, Superior Court Judge John Jolly, Jr. issued an order preventing the Division of Marine Fisheries from instituting the October 16 closure. When the MFC voted for the closure last year, interest groups from the commercial fishing industry, which were opposed to the ban, lined up against the recreation-oriented Coastal Conservation Association and Recreational Fishing Alliance. Read the story here 09:39
Temporary restraining order against the State in southern flounder lawsuit
Superior Court Judge John Nobles issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday during a hearing in superior court against the state enjoining officials from going forward with new southern flounder fishery regulations. Groups fighting the new regulations had requested a preliminary injunction. But the judge went with the TRO because not all of the defendants had been notified of the action. The next hearing date is to be announced, but officials hope to have it the week starting Monday, Oct. 10. Commercial fishermen and supporters of the civil action were present in the courtroom. Read the story here 13:40
North Carolina Counties and fishermen’s associations file lawsuit over flounder supplement
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. The complaint was filed on Sept. 23 in Carteret County Superior Civil Court in Beaufort. The plaintiffs include NCFA Inc., the Carteret County Fisherman’s Association Inc., Carteret County, Dare County and Hyde County. Defendants served with the complaint are the secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, the director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and all members of the N.C. 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. Read the story here 08:53
N.C. Senate wades into fisheries management – Commission would lose members, get supermajority requirement
It looks like the other shoe has dropped on legislators’ promise that they were “watching” the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. A provision in the N.C. Senate’s version of the state budget, making its way through the General Assembly, would cut two members from the nine-person commission. A supermajority — five out of seven commissioners — would also be required for the commission to take virtually any action, including changing rules on fishing regulations. Per another provision, if the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality directs the commission to create a fisheries management plan supplement — a stop-gap measure intended to quickly protect species that may be in decline — it could not include strategies that were not a part of the original management plan or rules that “result in severe curtailment of the usefulness or value of equipment.” Read the rest here 15:39
Flounder and semantics heat up fisheries meeting, just “who” is a commercial fisherman?”
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. Read the rest here 16:14
Chef Keith Rhodes resigns from N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission after flounder fracas
A prominent local chef has resigned from a state fisheries commission after a vote on flounder fishing restrictions that drew angry debate and social media comments. Keith Rhodes, chef at Wilmington restaurant Catch, resigned his at-large seat on the . His resignation letter was dated Nov. 20, the last day of the commission’s November meeting, during which members voted for limits on flounder fishing championed by recreational fishermen but vigorously opposed by the commercial fishing industry. He was one of six members of the nine-person commission who supported the final rules. Read the article here 11:42
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission to take action on southern flounder supplement
According to a release from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, the state agency that enforces marine fisheries rules and conducts fisheries research, the MFC is scheduled to select and approve management measures for supplement A to the southern flounder fishery management plan (FMP) Amendment 1. The proposed supplement, and the MFC’s use of the supplement process, has drawn both support and opposition. A recent release from the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit supporting the seafood industry, criticizes the proposed supplement. Read the rest here 15:35
Fisheries commission delays vote on southern flounder and Sammy don’t like it!
The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina has written to the commission chairman, Sammy Corbett, saying it is “infuriated” at his decision not to take up the topic until the next scheduled meeting, in mid-November. In August, Corbett said a special meeting would be held in September to consider the restrictions. “This is not your commission, but a governor-appointed body that includes diverse interests, tasked with the duty to safeguard and manage public fisheries resources for all of the citizens of North Carolina,” Bud Abbott, the organization’s president, wrote. Read the rest here 19:59
Makeup of N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission board invites political intrigue
State law authorizes a Marine Fisheries Commission to set policies governing the harvest of the state’s fish stock. It also says the commission is supposed to treat commercial and recreational interests fairly. But the commission was designed in such a manner that a balancing act between the two competing interests on the board is all but impossible.The board’s makeup also lends itself to political intrigue in the appointment of members by the governor. The problem lies in how the nine seats are allocated. Read the rest here 08:11
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission decisions led to flounder debacle – Allyn B. Powell
I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of research in your Sept. 1 editorial “Fishy business on fish rules” on southern flounder. A recent stock assessment on southern flounder prepared by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries was rejected by independent biologists during the peer review process. Basically, the assessment was rejected because it did not consider that the southern flounder stock is an “open population.” That is, unknown numbers of southern flounder exit North Carolina waters to enter southern (South Carolina, Georgia and Florida) waters, some unknown numbers remain offshore after spawning and some unknown numbers might enter North Carolina waters from the south.,, Read the rest here 11:53
Tensions build leading up to NC Marine Fisheries quarterly meeting
The fish up for debate is the Southern Flounder, which is one of the most sought after fish in North Carolina. The NCFA and commercial fishermen in the state are uneasy about the possible changes. The groups say it would mean drastic reductions in bag limits for fishermen, which would eventually lead to a sharp price increase for consumers and less dollars for the families and communities of fishermen. Many fishermen say conservationists and other politicians aren’t happy with North Carolina laws that allow gill net use. Read the rest here 08:23
Would netters OK a flounder buyout?
During the run-up to a June 17 public hearing about southern flounder management, several members of the
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission asked that the meeting be held in Raleigh. Their chairman, Sammy Corbett, rejected their requests, and the meeting was held in New Bern. The reason for the request was that most of the public hearings the Commission holds are in the eastern part of the state, where commercial fishermen rule the roost (lmao!). So several Commission members wanted recreational anglers to have a better chance to speak. Read the rest here 12:12
Flounder Fishery Management Plan draws fire at NC Marine Fisheries Commission hearing
Fishermen, recreational and commercial, along with environmentalists, scientists, seafood dealers and others spoke both for and against a proposed southern flounder supplement Wednesday. Around 160 people signed in at the hearing, of which about 66 voiced their opinions on the draft six-proposal supplement intended to reduce flounder catch – which includes both harvested flounder and dead discards – by 25-60 percent. One of the biggest items of contention between speakers was large mesh gill nets. Read the rest here 14:19
Scientist, legislators voice opposition to fisheries procedures of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission
A scientist and two legislators joined the state commercial fishing lobby in protesting the procedure planned by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission for possible drastic changes in regulation of the summer flounder harvest. The North Carolina Fisheries Association held a Monday morning press conference at Union Point Park in New Bern to challenge the use of a supplement approach to the management plan for the flounder. Six management plan proposals were quickly assembled since February, with a public hearing Wednesday in New Bern,,,Read the rest here 19:18
North Carolina Commercial Fishermen, Go to this public hearing
We urge attendance in a 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday public hearing in the New Bern River Convention Center that the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will hold to discuss southern flounder, the state’s most requested finfish. Representing the state’s commercial fishermen who serve the public, the N.C. Fisheries Association, is asking the Fisheries Commission to manage southern flounder in a fair and equitable manner, and it’s seeking fishermen’s participation in the hearing. Read the rest here 09:16
N.C. Commercial shrimpers will have to add second bycatch device on June 1
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission approved the new requirements as part of Amendment 1 to the N.C. Shrimp Fishery Management Plan. A bycatch reduction device is a fishing-gear modification designed to reduce the catch of finfish that do not meet the size limits or are too small to market. Currently, North Carolina requires shrimp fishermen to use one state-certified bycatch reduction device in shrimp trawls and skimmer trawls. Read the rest here 13:47
Corbett tapped to chair Marine Fisheries Commission
For years, state officials asked Sammy Corbett to serve on the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. And for years, Corbett said no. But eventually, he began to change his mind. So when the state came calling this year, Corbett finally said yes. Read the rest here 08:01
New chairman at the helm of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission: commercial fisherman Sammy Corbett
The N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit that supports the state’s seafood industry, is pleased with Mr. Corbett’s appointment. NCFA Executive Director Jerry Schill said Monday he was at the special MFC meeting in Washington when Mr. Corbett’s appointment was officially announced. “I congratulated him and asked if he had unlimited minutes on his cell phone,” Mr. Schill said. “He said ‘yes,’ and I told him ‘good, because you’re going to need it.’” Read the rest here 12:18
North Carolina DMF treading water on JEA, waiting for approval from top government officials
The state budget, echoing a directive from the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, gave Dr. Louis Daniel, NCDMF’s executive director, the authority to enter into an Joint Enforcement Agreement with the that would provide the state with an estimated $600,000 per year to allow the marine patrol and NMFS enforcement officers to respond to fisheries violations in either state or federal waters off North Carolina. Read the rest here 14:54
North Carolina: Commercial drum season reopens
While commercial fishermen said they saw a large abundance of red drum in the local waters and deny implications of hurting the resource, concerns have been raised by Coastal Conservation Association about the large overage and the possibility of illegal targeting of red drum by commercial fishermen. Read the rest here 19:15
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission offers webcast of meeting – informal question and answer session at 6 p.m. tonight
This week’s meeting of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will be in Raleigh, but you won’t have to hit the road to follow the board’s discussions of red drum and other issues. For the first time, the commission will offer a live webcast of its meeting, which begins tonight with a public comment period and continues with business sessions Thursday and Friday. webcast instructions here, webcast link here Read more here 12:52
Coastal Fisheries Reform Group wants ‘otter trawl’ shrimping equipment banned
The Coastal Fisheries Reform Group has presented the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission with a position paper asking for the removal of otter trawls – widely used shrimp-trawling gear. Representing the CFRG, Joe Albea of Winterville, who produces an outdoor show for North Carolina public television,,, The parade of morons is never ending! <Read more here> 22:15
North Carolina: New commercial fishing fund in Senate budget plan
RALEIGH — The state Senate has passed a budget bill that includes a new commercial fishing fund proposed by the N.C. Fisheries Association and backed by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. Read more here 12:44
Waters to re-open to gill net fishermen
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission took action Thursday that re-opens waters in certain exempted areas to allow anchored large-mesh gill net operations beginning June 1. However, no possession of red drum will be allowed. Read more here 16:26
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission – Certain waters to re-open to gill nets
Gill net fishermen will soon be able to return to the water, but no red drum caught in their nets as bycatch can be kept before the next season, which opens Sept. 1. The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission took action Thursday that re-opens waters in certain exempted areas to allow anchored large-mesh gill net operations beginning June 1. However, no possession of red drum will be allowed. Read more here 13:35
NC General Assembly Proposal would establish Commercial Fishing Resources Fund
A proposal headed to the General Assembly would help the state meet requirements for the protection of sea turtles while also providing funds for projects that enhance the state’s commercial fishing industry. The plan, brought forward by the commercial fishing industry, calls for the establishment of a Commercial Fishing Resources Fund. Read more here 12:44
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission has chosen a compromise on a controversial shrimp trawl amendment.
In a split vote, the commission chose an amended management option as one of its preferred options for the shrimp fishery management plan Amendment 1 on Friday at its Feb. 19-21 meeting at the Crystal Coast Civic Center. Read more here 09:34
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission advisers don’t back reduction goal
To reduce bycatch in shrimp trawls, advisers to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission recommend allowing more types of bycatch reduction devices and turtle excluder devices, but don’t support setting a specific reduction goal. Read [email protected] 10:36
