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NEWS
| "UNDERSTANDING YOUR CCA" Week Three |
Although this program is intended to educate the public, it is not a forum for discussion. I would like to have your questions answered. You can send your enquires to Stephen Ammons at Stephen@ccanc.org. Please include your name and phone number with your question.
This week's guest that answers your questions is Stephen Ammons, Executive Director of CCANC.
Question: What can we do as members to help CCA accomplish our goals?
Answer: There are many different ways to help CCA NC accomplish its goals. I will focus on one that is occurring in October. The public has a chance to voice their concerns during three days of hearings concerning the Red Drum Management Plan. The Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) is holding three public hearings scheduled for all the rules being considered by the Commission. This is the perfect time for members of CCA to inform the commission their thoughts on the red drum plan.
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| 29 Sep 2008 - 11:34 by CCA North Carolina |
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| "UNDERSTANDING YOUR CCA" Week Two |
Although this program is intended to educate the public, it is not a forum for discussion. I would like to have your questions answered. You can send your enquires to Stephen Ammons at Stephen@ccanc.org. Please include your name and phone number with your question.
This week's guest is Chris Elkins, Chairman of the Fisheries Committee of CCANC. Chris is also an avid supporter of the Oyster Recycling Program.
Question: My question concerns the oyster shells being collected and recycled. Will these oysters be available for harvest by commercial fishermen? Or is there long term protection in place?
Answer: There are two DMF "oyster" programs, the oyster shell recycling program and an oyster sanctuary program, which are often confused.
Oyster shell recycling program. (http://www.ncfisheries.net/shellfish/recycle1.htm). Oyster shells or some other hard substrate is required for oyster larvae to attach to; we have been taking shells out, but few shells were finding their way back into the water-thus spawned the OSRP.
A network of recycling centers are located around the State where shells are collected, and through a complicated system eventually end up at the coast where NC DMF deploys them. The present primary objective of the oyster shell recycling program is to increase oyster harvest for food. The overwhelming majority of recycled shell goes onto public bottom, where anyone (commercial or recreational fishermen) can take them. Commercial fishermen harvest the majority of oysters, about 75,000 bushels per year (since no permit or license is required for shellfish harvest, solid data on recreational harvest is lacking, but it is believed to be far less). CCA NC is opposed to the current short-term approach to "put and take" that benefits a few commercial fishermen economically, and which amounts to a government subsidy.
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| 29 Sep 2008 - 10:47 by CCA North Carolina |
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| "UNDERSTANDING YOUR CCA" Week One |
This is a new program to explain some of the commonly asked questions of CCA NC. We hope to educate people that are concerned about our coastal resources.
Although this program is intended to educate the public, it is not a forum for discussion. I would like to have your questions answered. You can send your enquires to Stephen Ammons at Stephen@ccanc.org. Please include your name and phone number with your question.
This week's guest that answers your questions is Louis Daniel, Director of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.
1. Question: Which of the NC Saltwater Species are listed as Gamefish? I have tried to find this information and I'm unable to locate it. Is North Carolina's state fish the Redfish listed as a Gamefish? If not, why not? If Stripers aren’t considered Gamefish , how can we expect a recovery of the Cape Fear River stocks after the ladder construction, if they are not afforded this protection?
Answer: The definition of gamefish is ambiguous and depends on who you talk to. My definition of gamefish is based on my experiences in SC where red drum and speckled trout were listed as gamefish-- and it simply means no sale. After a quick review, tarpon, marlin and sailfish are the only species listed as "no sale" in NC. Red drum and striped bass were declared gamefish in the EEZ by Presidential Executive Order. There was little interest by the ASMFC in pursuing this designation in state waters because overfishing is not occurring on either species and only red drum remain overfished -- and due to their longevity-- (~55 years maximum age) will take longer to rebuild.
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| 29 Sep 2008 - 10:44 by CCA North Carolina |
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| The Gill Net Quandary: Part Five (For The Fish) |
By Kent King, correspondent
Rocky Mount Telegram
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
As long as there are commercial fishermen trying to make a living in North Carolina sounds and recreational fishermen using these same waters, there will likely be more confrontations.
What we all need to understand is the resources we are fighting over are finite. There are a certain number of fish in the sea.
No commercial fisherman, recreational fisherman or government agency can ever guess the number.
When fish of all kinds were plentiful decades ago, we all enjoyed the bountiful harvest. We filled coolers, gave some to our friends and neighbors, had large fish fries, and in doing so grossly abused our privilege and mismanaged the resource.
More people at the coast means more fish are taken each year, both recreationally and commercially. There are definitely greedy, mean fishermen on both sides who exacerbate the problem with their vindictive actions, whether targeting red drum or cutting up nets.
I think some of the recent problems were created by recreational fishermen who are allowed to purchase a commercial license, not by the true commercial fishermen, the recreational guides or the occasional recreational fisherman.
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| 25 Sep 2008 - 09:32 by CCA North Carolina |
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| The Gill Net Quandary: Part Four (Recreational Use) |
By Rip Woodin
Rocky Mount Telegram
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
John Hislop calls himself "just an angry recreational fisherman" when he explains what motivated him to pick a fight with the state's commercial fishing industry over using gill nets in North Carolina's coastal waters.
"I'm fortunate enough to live on the water outside of Swansboro," the utility contractor said. "Over the last 15 years I've watched the fishing deteriorate from the pure abuse that's going on."
A modern gill net is made of nylon fiber and has a specific size opening in the mesh. The targeted fish try to swim through the opening but are trapped by the mesh behind their gills when they try to back out if they are too large to pass through the net. They suffocate because water can't move over their gills. The theory is that small fish will swim through the openings and large fish only bump up against the mesh then turn away.
It doesn't work that way, Hislop said. "Sixty-five percent of what's caught is bycatch like red drum, sea birds, turtles and ducks. I call it collateral damage," he said.
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| 24 Sep 2008 - 14:36 by CCA North Carolina |
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| The Gill Net Quandry: Part Three (A Compromise) |
By Kent King
Rocky Mount Telegram
Monday, September 22, 2008
A compromise in Calico Bay crafted by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries may be a precedent to resolve broader conflicts between the recreational and commercial fishing interests, Division Director Dr. Louis B. Daniel III said.
Daniel said the mission of Marine Fisheries is to manage the resources in North Carolina for the benefit of all users. That can be a tough job, when each side feels it has a legitimate gripe.
"In Calico Bay, there was an obvious problem. The two sides sat down with Division of Marine Fisheries officials and were able to work out an agreeable solution," Daniel said.
Marine Fisheries allowed flounder gill netters to place their sets in the sound one-half hour after sunset. By law these nets were to be retrieved by one-half hour before sunrise.
The plan worked. The two different user groups met rarely, only in passing. Flounder tend to move more at night, so most of the commercial fishermen were happy with the compromise.
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| 23 Sep 2008 - 09:18 by CCA North Carolina |
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| The Gill Net Quandry: Part Two (More Nets, Problems) |
By Kent King, correspondent
Rocky Mount Telegram
Sunday, September 21, 2008
As the number of recreational fishermen and guides grows with the popularity of the coast, they are less hesitant to voice their anger over the proliferation of gill nets that snare everything that swims from flounder and red drum to sea turtles and ducks.
Conversely, the number of commercial fishermen is declining because it's hard work, costs are rising and the monetary return is low. The fishermen who remain appear to be setting more nets in an effort either to increase their catch or to frustrate the recreational fishermen who are so opposed to gill nets.
Tom Roller, a full-time guide from the Newport River area said, "I am seeing so many more nets in the water now, especially in the last two years. We are squandering this economic resource, and there is no push by the N.C. Division of Marine Resources to regulate gill nets."
Nets catch a lot of fish, Roller said. "I suspect a lot more are caught than are actually reported. That can lead to localized depletion. Red drum do not move very much in their first three years of life. Netting a small area in an estuary does a lot of damage because the same areas get pounded."
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| 23 Sep 2008 - 09:12 by CCA North Carolina |
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| The Gill Net Quandry: Part One (The Issue) - Debatable Catch |
Area recreational, commercial fishing gill nets causing havoc along North Carolina's shore?
By Kent King, correspondent
Rocky Mount Telegram
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The summer day was typical for late June on the sound. The morning started fair and quite warm. The seagulls were busy in the shallows, picking off wayward minnows for an easy breakfast.
Puffy clouds lazily floated by as the fishermen worked the Haystacks near Morehead City for speckled trout, flounder and puppy drum. As the tide began to rise, the minnows formed tighter schools. Larger fish were present in deeper channels, chasing them into the flats. It was fun to watch.
As the morning wore on, those harmless clouds began to gather. A classic Carteret County thunderstorm was building on the western horizon; it was time to pull the anchor. In just a few short minutes the storm formed an anvil head, and rotation was visible. The sound turned a mean shade of green. The fishermen left the Haystacks in a hurry, barely loading all the gear into the truck before the bottom fell out.
Sometimes these storms last for minutes, other times they last for days. Little did the fishermen know at the time, a storm of a different kind was building on these same waters.
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| 23 Sep 2008 - 09:06 by CCA North Carolina |
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| 2008 CCA NC Inside & Out Tournament |
October 10th & 11th
Morehead City, NC
CCA NC Inside & Out Tournament Fishing Guide Raffle
Buy one (1) raffle ticket for only $20.00 OR three (3) for $50.00
Guarantee yourself a chance to fish with Captain Tom Roller- One of the Crystal Coast's premier saltwater Captains!
Inside Tournament Guide
A Coast Guard licensed captain; Tom Roller has been fishing the waters of Bogue Banks and Cape Lookout his entire life. Captain Tom has a wealth of fisheries knowledge that makes for both an exciting and educational fishing experience.
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| 12 Sep 2008 - 12:40 by CCA North Carolina |
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| MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION AGENDA SET |
MOREHEAD CITY - The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Sept. 24-26 at the Clamdigger Inn in Pine Knoll Shores.
The commission is scheduled to discuss a number of state fisheries issues, including user group conflicts and bycatch in gill nets used in the Southern flounder fishery. The discussion is in preparation for an upcoming revision to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan.
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| 12 Sep 2008 - 11:18 by CCA North Carolina |
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