Eastern Oyster and Hard Clam Advisory Committee Meet This Week
The Oyster and Clam Advisory Committee (AC) will meet this week (Monday, July 15th through Wednesday, July 17th) at the Craven Community College in New Bern to assist the NC Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) staff in developing management issues and options in the draft fishery management plans (FMP) for wild oyster and clam harvest.
Times:
Monday, July 15th starting at 2:00pm
Tuesday, July 16th at 8:30 am
Wednesday, July 17th at 8:30 am
Location:
Craven Community College
Student Center
800 College Court, New Bern
Naumann Community Room, Room 115 in Ward Hall
Important to note: these amendments will not look into aquaculture, only mechanical and hand harvest of wild caught oysters and clams.
Although public comment will not be taken at this meeting, the public is encouraged to attend and talk with DMF staff and AC members during meeting breaks.
Management options being discussed for commercial oyster harvest include:
-Status quo
-Closing large areas of the Pamlico and Neuse Rivers and the Western Pamlico Sound to create “Deep Water Reef Conservation Areas” (maps can be found in Pamlico Sound Oyster Mechanical Harvest Management)
-Creating rotational opening planted clutch sites; closed 3 years, then open for 1 year
-Using a new approach to determine season length by sampling percentage before the mechanical oyster season begins; instead of the current in season sampling program
Management options being discussed for commercial clam harvest:
-Status quo
-Further limiting mechanical claim harvest areas to protect habitat (maps can be found in Mechanical Clam Harvest)
-Phase out mechanical clam harvest
Management options being discussed for recreational shellfish harvest:
-Status quo
-Support the NCDMF to further explore all potential options and develop a solution to quantify recreational shellfish harvest participation and landings outside the FMP process (details in Recreational Harvest)
We are still early in the process. Now is the best time to get involved and discuss ideas, whether they be good and bad. Once the draft FMP gets presented to the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) later this year it will be much harder to make changes and suggest alternative management options.
Additional documents:
Intertidal Oyster Commercial Harvest Management
Clam Regulations in Other States
Oyster Regulations in Other States
If you have any questions or concerns, especially on wild oyster and clam harvest, please reach out. Now is the time to speak up!
Thomas Newman
Fisheries Liaison
