Tag Archives: Sandy Semans Ross
Commentary: Questions abound with industrial oyster farm bill, It’s dirty – plain and simple.
Wonder what all the heartburn is about with the oyster restoration bill sponsored by local legislators Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, and Rep. Beverly Boswell, R-Dare? It’s dirty – plain and simple. And although the who, what and how parts are now visible, there are a ton of questions about various entities that are yet to be answered. The North Carolina Coastal Federation is taking the heat for the oyster aquaculture bill, H361, that contains a few needed fixes but primarily was written to benefit one company – a foreign company with a murky record in other states where it does business. But the Coastal Federation and the collaboratory that was appointed to map out a plan to grow the state’s oyster industry didn’t write the bill. >click to read<10:14
A key vote looms on commercial fishing in North Carolina
A high stakes meeting of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC), set to begin today, includes a proposal that advocates say could devastate the state’s commercial fishing industry by redefining the requirements for a license. “This can change the whole ball game,” said Dare Commissioner Steve House, who is planning to attend the meeting and speak out against the proposal. “They’re working to obliterate an industry and a whole way of life. And it’s not just a battle anymore — it’s all-out war. And I’m ready to fight it.” >click to read< 08:30
Watermen, locals descend on Raleigh to fight fisheries bill – The true toll of a treacherous bill on commercial fishing
Hundreds of commercial fishermen and their families, along with local government and agency leaders spent Wednesday walking the halls of the North Carolina Legislative Building in an effort to battle a bill they say could shut down the entire industry. House Bill 867 would attempt to rewrite the Fisheries Reform Act, which is the body of statutes that provides the framework for fisheries management in North Carolina. The event was organized by North Carolina Watermen United and the North Carolina Fisheries Association.,, But just as opponents were arriving on Jones Street in Downtown Raleigh, many wearing white T-shirts and red buttons calling for a no vote, word trickled out that the legislation was being amended. click here to read the story 08:47
The true toll of a treacherous bill on commercial fishing – Sandy Semans Ross – If he had bothered to come, I wanted to explain what is obvious to me but apparently less so to others. But he didn’t come, so I share my words with you. I would have told him that the coastal economy as a whole is unique because of its proximity to the ocean and the sounds. click here to read the story
Op-ed: E-mails continue a troubling practice on fisheries panel
With a critical vote pending on a petition to limit shrimp trawling in state waters, a member of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission made no secret of his position in an e-mail to a concerned chef from Charlotte. The e-mail was among several by Commissioner Chuck Laughridge to people who had submitted written comments on the petition, which supporters say is aimed at protecting fish species that are discarded as by-catch after they are hauled in by shrimp nets. Laughridge wrote the e-mails despite warnings from the commission’s lawyer about conducting business outside of public meetings and expressing opinions on pending issues before the fisheries panel has fully debated and voted on them. We at Outer Banks Catch are troubled by these continuing private communications. The commission is already under the cloud of a 2016 audit that cited several potential violations of open meetings laws in e-mail communications among its members. With the potentially devastating impact of limits to shrimp trawling on commercial watermen and consumers up and down the East Coast, the commission more than ever must be above-board. Continue reading the Op-ed here 22:38
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
