Fishermen input still needed!!

 

Coastal Carolina Riverwatch (CCRW, with the assistance of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission and the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, is surveying NC fishing communities to determine the effects of water quality on our fisheries.

 

The survey is being administered by the Survey Research Center at East Carolina University. Survey results will help identify the water quality concerns and priorities of those engaged in fishing and shellfishing activities. Survey results will be made available publicly by CCRW. Individual responses will remain confidential.

 

It is very important that the perspectives of commercial fishing communities such as yourself are taken into account. The survey should take less than five minutes of your time. Please respond as soon as possible by clicking on the attached link

 

https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fecu.az1.qualtrics.com%2Fjfe%2Fform%2FSV_9vnUftMqcFfcIN8&data=04%7C01%7CFRANCIAP%40ecu.edu%7Cdd42c7a7337b46ce0b2d08d8e491abb0%7C17143cbb385c4c45a36ac65b72e3eae8%7C0%7C0%7C637510661613595613%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=%2FuELg0fUKVkLcbJ5%2BmKCZNih5maEczxBkLr845f6uXg%3D&reserved=0

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE for 3/12/2012:

INCEST:

Yes, you read it correctly! After last week’s update, Allen Jernigan wrote that I have an “incestuous relationship” with members of the General Assembly. As proof, he provided a screen shot of the update where I stated, “…there will probably be a meeting of the NC House Marine Resources Committee next week but nothing official yet.” Good grief! But there’s more! This past Monday I get a phone call from the State Bureau of Investigation, (SBI) that they received a complaint from Mr. Jernigan that we printed his phone number in the update. Well, yes we did, because we printed the message he wrote to several legislators that included the name of his business and his phone number.

Suggestion: First, don’t spread misinformation if you don’t want pushback. Second, if you don’t want information shared or be made public, don’t include it in a message to a legislator’s official address because if you do it becomes public record!

I’m sometimes asked by a legislator, “Why can’t y’all just get along?” Well, we attend and participate in most meetings/hearings in the regulatory process. We also invest a lot of time and effort in Raleigh with the legislative process. We then get accused of “regulatory capture” and having an “incestuous relationship” by exercising our due diligence. I think you should ask the other side that question!

NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
Disclaimer: No incest was involved in compiling this information.

Votes were taken in committee this week on H-2 and H-161 as noted below. There is activity on a positive bill for commercial fishermen that may be introduced next week.

Rather than list all of the bills again, I’ll just list the ones that had action. To see the others that were listed previously, refer to the update of 2/26/2021. They were not listed in the update last week.

H-2 BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN AS STATE MARINE MAMMAL
https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/House/PDF/H2v1.pdf
Passed by the House State Government Committee on 3/10 and now in the House Marine Resources Committee

H-161 ADDRESS ABANDONED AND DERELICT VESSELS;
sponsored by Hanig, McElraft, Iler & Shepard;
https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/House/PDF/H161v0.pdf
Passed by the Marine Resources Committee on 3/10 and now in Rules.

God bless,

Jerry

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: Marine Fisheries Commission to meet by web conference March 18

 

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet by web conference on March 18 beginning at 1 p.m.
 

The public may listen to the meeting by phone or listen and view presentations online.

For to the link and phone number to join the meeting go to the Marine Fisheries Commission March 2021 Meeting webpage.

 

Members of the public may submit written comments to the commission in two ways:

  1. Online Comments– Public comments will be accepted until noon on Monday, March 15, through an online form available here.
  2. Mailed Comments– Written comments may be mailed to March 2021 Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting Comments, P.O Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557. Comments must be received by the division by noon on Monday, March 15.

 

Public comment will not be accepted during the meeting or through email.

 

Following the meeting, an audio recording will be posted online.

 

The commission is scheduled to review and vote on sending the draft Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 for public and advisory committee review later this spring.

The draft amendment includes options for commercial and recreational quotas, commercial trip limits, recreational bag limits, regulations on the recreational use of commercial gear to harvest flounder, separating southern flounder from other flounder species in recreational management, evaluating inlet corridors as a management tool, and evaluating recreational and commercial slot limits.

 

For a meeting agenda and other meeting materials, go to the Marine Fisheries Commission March 2021 Meeting webpage.

 

Marine Fisheries Commission selects sector allocations for southern flounder plan amendment

 

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission selected sector harvest allocations of 70% commercial and 30% recreational for the upcoming Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan.

 

The commission voted on the allocations at its quarterly business meeting last week.

 

At its November 2020 meeting, the commission asked the Division of Marine Fisheries to consider several different options for sector harvest allocations in the draft plan amendment, including commercial/recreational splits of 70/30, 65/35, 60/30 with a 10% allotment for gigging, 60/40, and 50/50.

In previous southern flounder plans, management measures were based on historical sector landings. For Amendment 3, that would equate to approximately 73% commercial and 27% recreational.

 

The draft amendment includes options for commercial and recreational quotas, commercial trip limits, recreational bag limits, regulations on the recreational use of commercial gear to harvest flounder, separating southern flounder from other flounder species in recreational management, evaluating inlet corridors as a management tool, and evaluating recreational and commercial slot limits.

 

During the meeting, Chairman Rob Bizzell announced he will schedule a special meeting by web conference on March 18, 2021 to vote on sending the draft Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 for public and advisory committee review later this spring. Specifics on the meeting time and web links will be announced later.

 

Final adoption of the draft amendment is scheduled for later this year.

In other business, the commission:

  • Moved forward with rulemaking to protect all finfish species from highly efficient fishing gear on artificial reefs in state ocean waters.
  • Gave final approval to amend and readopt a package of rules in 15A NCAC 03 and 18A under a mandatory periodic review schedule. The rules pertain to shellfish growing waters, processing of crustacea meat, special secondary nursery areas, and oyster sanctuaries. The rules also address user conflicts associated with shellfish leases while supporting a productive shellfish aquaculture industry.
  • Approved the goal and objectives for Amendment 2 to the Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan.
  • Voted not to move forward with proposed rulemaking to require the use of circle hooks and barbless treble hooks when fishing with natural bait statewide. Rather, the commission voted to consider circle hook requirements on a species-by-species basis through the fishery management plan process.
  • Decided by consensus not to proceed with developing additional rules to limit shellfish lease acreage in identified high-use areas, to give time for the other shellfish lease rules to take effect.