Tag Archives: North Carolina Wildlife Federation
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 16, 2022
NCWF…Sounds a lot like the CCA’s approach to messaging. Doesn’t it? A couple of weeks ago I had a call from a friend who is not a fisherman, recreational or commercial, but has taken an interest in fisheries management. He reached out to ask me about the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF), as he had seen them mentioned in several of our weekly newsletters but was having trouble finding their fisheries positions on the NCWF website. >click to read<. To read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 09:41
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for January10, 2022
What the Wildlife Federation isn’t telling you about shrimp trawling in NC! Like the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has very strong opinions about commercial fishing, especially the use of gill nets and shrimp trawls to harvest seafood. They consistently provide their perspective on these issues to the public, and as I pointed out last week, they specialize in playing it fast and loose with the facts. I’ll certainly be providing you with more examples of the deception in the coming weeks. (continues) >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 09:31
NCFA – North Carolina Wildlife Federation brings in the New Year with a lie!
North Carolina: Petition seeks to introduce new rules to commercial fishing industry
A petition by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) could have a major impact on the commercial fishing industry. The petition seeks to:
Limit shrimpers workweek from five days (Monday-Friday) to three (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). To designate areas as shrimp trawl management areas. Reduce the size of nets allowed and restrict gear in these newly designated areas. The federation says the reason for the petition is to reduce the amount of by-catch. By-catch is the anything in the net that’s not your intended species. It’s common for shrimpers to catch juvenile fish in their nets while shrimping. >click to read< 12:07
Nort Carolina: New shrimping rules slowly migrate through sea of bureaucracy
Almost two years after it surfaced, a proposal to radically curtail commercial shrimping is crawling through the state’s rule-making process. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation petitioned the Marine Fisheries Commission for the new rules in November 2016, and after modifications, the panel accepted the request on Feb. 16, 2017. Several changes would cripple the shrimp trawling industry, critics say, and would raise the size limit on spot and croaker so high that they would effectively eliminate both fisheries for recreational and commercial fishermen. But the rule-making part isn’t on the horizon yet. >click to read<09:30
Boswell, Cook sponsor bills aimed at shrimping rule petition
Two bills were introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly last week in response to the Marine Fisheries Commission’s recent endorsement of a petition for rule-making that could limit the shrimp industry in coastal waters. On Wednesday, Sen. Bill Cook (R-Beaufort) filed Senate Bill 432, which would require the completion of a study of shrimp gear. It also calls for gathering viewpoints from all sides. On Thursday, Rep. Beverly Boswell (R-Dare) introduced House Bill 545, which calls on the Fisheries Commission to follow the recommendations of advisory committees when exercising its rule-making powers. The bill would also require the commission to formally adopt a resolution of rejection when it acts against recommendations from the advisory panels. continue reading the article here 10:13
Local restaurant owners upset about North Carolina Wildlife Federation shrimping petition
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation brought forward a petition to protect juvenile fish, but many are arguing it puts their livelihood at risk. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission voted to approve a petition that would regulate where, how and when shrimpers could work. The final verdict has made a lot of people in the business upset. Fulcher Seafood in Oriental employees more than 200 people. Christina Fulcher-Cahoon said the new restrictions would jeopardize their large employee base and the seafood industry completely. While the petition was approved, this is merely the first approval. It must go through several steps before it is actually enforced. There is a chance the petition will not make it through all of these steps and will never go into affect. Video, read the rest here 14:11
NC shrimpers say new rules for trawlers will destroy industry
The state Marine Fisheries Commission voted Thursday to begin drafting rules that would limit trawling for shrimp in North Carolina’s inland coastal waters, a move that many on the coast say could destroy the shrimping industry. The decision came after months of wrangling between commercial and recreational fishermen, with the latter group arguing that trawlers are scooping up millions of young fish before they’re old enough to spawn, effectively killing off fish stocks in the region. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation petitioned the state – the only one on the East Coast that allows shrimp trawling in its sounds and estuaries – to reduce the size of trawler nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping. “What just happened today is appalling,” said Brent Fulcher, who owns Beaufort Inlet Seafood in Beaufort. “The state process is broken.” Continue reading the article here 16:56
Sandy Semans Ross – My view: N.C. Wildlife Federation petition is short on science and facts
The Outer Banks Catch is a nonprofit focused on providing fact-based education to consumers about the commercial fishing industry and communities, and the habitat and water quality needed to maintain a robust fishery. With that mission comes a responsibility to correct erroneous statements whether made in the press or, such as in this case, in petitions for rule-making before the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission. The petition filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) is based on the work of Jack Travelstead, an employee of the Coastal Conservation Association, and former Division of Marine Fisheries director, Louis Daniel, now contracted with NCWF. The document, amendment and submitted public comments contain few statements that Outer Banks Catch could provide to the public and stand behind their legitimacy. It requests designating all inland waters and three miles out into the ocean as a huge special secondary nursery area, thus prohibiting almost all shrimp trawling. Read the op-ed here 09:19
BIG DAY AHEAD: North Carolina Shrimpers to argue against proposed industry restrictions
The public will have a chance to speak during a meeting in New Bern that could lead to commercial shrimp trawling restrictions in North Carolina. Multiple media outlets report five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet jointly Tuesday at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center. The committee members will discuss a petition was filed by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation that would designate fishing waters in the sounds and three miles into the ocean as primary nursery areas to protect habitats for juvenile fish. Another change would be to limit the days and hours when shrimp trawling is allowed. Commercial fishermen say the proposed regulations would further threaten the shrimping business in North Carolina. link 07:41
Fishermen, consumers rallying to fight petition calling for shrimp trawl restrictions
Jimmy Phillips estimates 100,000 pounds or more of shrimp comes through the family seafood market in a season; all of it fresh from North Carolina waters. “Yeah, it worries me,” Phillips said when asked about a petition for rulemaking before the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission that would put severe restrictions on shrimping in North Carolina. “It would affect shrimping tremendously, net fishing, and everybody,” Phillips said. Phillips is just one of many fishermen, seafood industry representatives, and concerned consumers who plan to attend a Tuesday public meeting in New Bern to express their opposition to the petition. The meeting begins at 12:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Convention Center. Jerry Schill, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a nonprofit trade association representing the interests of commercial fishermen, seafood dealers and processors, said the petition for rulemaking is “not only a referendum on shrimping but a referendum on the future of commercial fishing.” Read the story here 09:34
McCrory set stage for latest threat to shrimping
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission appears poised to pass a new regulation that many critics say will drastically impact, perhaps even shut down, North Carolina’s shrimping industry. On Jan. 17, the Marine Fisheries Commission will be holding a hearing in New Bern on the rule, which would essentially make all inland waterways a “secondary nursery” for fin fish, significantly curtailing the use of trawl nets to harvest shrimp. After a huge turnout at a public hearing in 2013, the MFC denied a petition from an individual angler to implement similar rules. But with anti-shrimping forces possessing what appears to be a super-majority on the MFC, the petition and hearings are back, this time proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, a group closely allied with the Coastal Conservation Association — a special interest group that has long sought to ban shrimp trawls and finfish netting from the state’s inland waters. Ironically, local commercial fishermen, who have heavily supported the GOP in state elections, have former Governor Pat McCrory to thank for their predicament. Read the story here 10:56
Opponents line up in showdown over limits to shrimp trawling
Hyde County Commissioners, along with local stakeholders and seafood advocates, have issued strong opposition to proposed rules that would result in major changes to the state’s commercial trawling industry. They say the restrictions could ultimately end the state’s access shrimp.,, Other rule changes outlined in the 99-page NCWF petition are: Limiting shrimp trawling to three days a week; limiting trawling to daytime only; limiting the total head rope (the span of the nets) to 90 feet; establishing 45-minute tow times; define type of gear and how it can be used in special secondary nursery areas;and opening the season based on a 60 shrimp per pound. Last week, Hyde County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution opposing the rules. Read the story here 15:16
North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission to decide shrimp trawling regulations
The New Year will begin with a decision that could impact the livelihood of area commercial fishermen. The five advisory committees to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will meet jointly on Jan. 17 in New Bern to receive public comment on a petition for rulemaking that would, if adopted, impact shrimp trawl fishing in most North Carolina waters. The petition asks the commission to designate all coastal fishing waters not already designated as nursery areas as special secondary nursery areas, including the ocean out to three miles. It also calls for establishing clear criteria for the opening of shrimp season and defining the type of gear and how and when gear may be used in special secondary nursery areas (SSNAs) during shrimp season. The petition is being opposed by the North Carolina Fisheries Association,,, Read the rest here 11:42
North Carolina Wildlife Federation angling for tougher NC rules on shrimp trawlers
The state Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a petition from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to adopt regulations for shrimp trawlers operating in coastal sounds that would reduce the size of their nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping.The goal of the changes, according to Wildlife Federation officials, is to protect fish nurseries.”We have found doing the research – looking at the science, looking at the data and doing the analysis – that we are losing too many fish to shrimp trawling,” David Knight, a policy consultant for the Wildlife Federation, told the commission. “It’s kind of crazy that it comes up now because we just passed, last year, the shrimp plan,” commission Chairman Sammy Corbett said. One of the proposals would cut the length of the head rope attached to the top of a trawler net from 220 feet to 90 feet, among other restriction. Video, read the rest here 07:57
North Carolina Wildlife Federation Proposes Drastic Policies to Protect Coastal Habitats
MOREHEAD CITY – A wildlife conservation nonprofit is looking to make some changes to the way our state cares for its coastal ecosystem. The new policies would promote oyster restoration, habitat protection and stricter fishing gear regulations. “If we keep going the same direction, then our coast will be in peril,” said David Knight, policy advisor with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. “Large mesh gill nets, small mesh gill nets, shrimp trolling in inland waters, but all of these issues,,, Read the rest here 18:14
