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NEWS
| MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION TO MEET IN KILL DEVIL HILLS |
MOREHEAD CITY - The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Nov. 5-7 at the Ramada Inn in Kill Devil Hills. The public is invited to attend.
The commission is scheduled to adopt amendments to the state's Red Drum Fishery Management Plan, along with rules to implement the amended plan. The commission will also consider a slate of other proposed rules impacting various fisheries including flounder pound netting and recreational shrimping.
Additionally, the commission will be asked to endorse pursuing a joint enforcement agreement between the N.C. Marine Patrol and National Marine Fisheries Service law enforcement and adopting a violation point system for state fisheries offenses. Both proposals require legislative approval.
Other agenda items include an update of Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council decisions impacting the state's spiny dogfish, smooth dogfish and American eel fisheries.
The meeting begins with a public comment period at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, and continues with a business session at 9 a.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m. Friday. For more information contact the Marine Fisheries Commission Office at (252) 726-7021 or (800) 682-2632.
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| 28 Oct 2008 - 14:21 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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| UNDERSTANDING YOUR CCA-Dick Brame |
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 question is Richen Brame, Atlantic States Fisheries Director, CCA.
Question: What are CCA thoughts on commercial inshore shrimping and trawling? Has there been any legislation passed to restrict destructive trawling practices from tearing up live bottom areas in our waterways and sounds in both the northern and southern areas?
Answer: Shrimp trawling involves pulling a flattened cone shaped net along the bottom to capture shrimp (usually referred to as an "otter trawl.") The net is held open by a pair of "doors" that are attached to either side of the net and hold the mouth open. Often the bottom line of the trawl net is weighted in order to make sure it scrapes the bottom to capture the most shrimp. The net is pulled for varying distances and time before the boat is stopped, the net retrieved and its contents dumped out on the deck.
There are several inherent problems with this method of shrimping - the one usually cited is dead bycatch. Bycatch is the catch of anything other than shrimp and most of it is dead. On average the bycatch in the NC shrimp fishery is about 4 pounds of bycatch for every pound of shrimp harvested, sometimes a lot more, sometimes less. The predominant species in the bycatch are small croaker, spot and menhaden. The question is whether or not this poses a problem to future finfish population. The only instance I am aware of where it was specifically examined was in the weakfish fishery. It was determined that the NC shrimp fishery must reduce the bycatch of weakfish (grey trout) by 40% in order to recover the Atlantic coast stock. This was done by installing Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRD's) in the net.
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| 23 Oct 2008 - 15:32 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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| CCA NC's 4th Annual Inside & Out Tournament |
Morehead City, N.C. - Saturday October 11th, marked the fourth annual CCA NC Inside & Out Tournament. In spite of forecasted winds of 15 to 20 knots and a steady rain, 30 dedicated captains from all across the state showed up to fish the event with proceeds benefiting the N.C. artificial reef program. The event started on Friday night with the captains meeting and Crystal Coast banquet at Morehead Marine.
The next morning saw lines in the water at 7am, despite of the steady rain and wind. By three o'clock the weigh-in docks at Portside Marina came to life as teams made their way to the scales. At the end of the day, the following teams came out on top, by not only finding fish, but outlasting Mother Nature's worst:
1st Place: Redfish (Live Weigh-in) Division: Roy Long (Raleigh) & Jay Dail (Charlotte) - 5.13lb
1st Place: Redfish (Measured) Division: Capt. Lee Sykes (Morehead City) - 23", 23", 24"
1st Place: Trout Division: Capt. Lee Sykes (Morehead City) - 2.01lb
1st Place: King Mackerel Division: W.F. Bulow (Greenville) - 20.00lb
The festivities continued at Portside Marina, on the Morehead City waterfront, with an all you can eat oyster roast and a low county broil cooked by CCA NC Triangle Chapter member and master cook Mike Kalet. No one left hungry and after a hard day of fishing and fishing stories, there were door prizes for some of the lucky captains as well as checks for the winners.
Thanks to all of this year's participants and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
Many thanks go to the folks at Morehead Marine and Portside Marina for hosting and special thanks go to Grady White Boats and BB&T as primary tournament sponsors.
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| 13 Oct 2008 - 15:12 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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| Kay Crocker 1939-2008 |
Kay Crocker was one of the founders of CCA NC (then called ACCA), and was instrumental in arranging the first organizational meeting in Wilmington, NC during December 1988. He served on the State Board actively for the next 10 years and was the first President of the Cape Fear Chapter. Even after stepping down as President he was instrumental in the success of the Chapter Banquet and other activities. He was the primary sponsor of a king mackerel tagging tournament - challenging two other boat dealers to get 10 boats and see who could tag the most king mackerel. That event was held for 3 years and over 500 king mackerel were tagged and released. He also was instrumental in organizing and running the Chapters annual Sporting Clays Tournament for 5 years. His business was always available for CCA meetings and activities.
He was also very involved in fishery conservation issues outside of CCA - serving as an advisor on many Marine Fisheries Commission committees and serving on the MFC during their effort to rewrite NC's fishery management system through the Moratorium Steering Committee and after. He was an outspoken advocate for conservation of the marine fishery resource and recreational fishing.
Kay was a force of nature the likes of which you see once or twice in a lifetime. He was a man of action and accomplishments, he never did anything halfway. His commitment to marine fishery conservation was a burning passion that never flickered. He will be missed.
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| 8 Oct 2008 - 13:47 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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| Recreational angling secured by Presidential order |
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has again highlighted the importance of recreational angling to the country by signing an Executive Order that ensures federal agencies will manage fishing as sustainable activity in all federal waters, including marine protected areas (MPAs). The Order signed on Sept. 26, 2008, modifies Executive Order 12962 signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995.
"No President has ever understood the critical link between recreational angling and a strong conservation ethic as clearly as President Bush," said Walter W. Fondren III, chairman of Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). "Recreational anglers have been the driving force behind many of the most comprehensive marine conservation victories this country has seen, and with this action the President is recognizing them as true stewards of the resource."
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| 2 Oct 2008 - 08:50 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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