Fishing

May 6, 2009

UPDATE….Game fish status for drum and spotted
sea trout hasn’t gone anywhere but the fight isn’t over yet

By SUSAN WEST

Commercial fishermen say the game fish designation bill introduced in the state legislature this spring is the first shot over the bow fired in an aggressive campaign waged by some recreational fishing groups.

“This issue is now front-and-center in North Carolina, and even if the legislature doesn’t pass this particular bill, the groups supporting game fish status are laying the groundwork for stepped-up efforts in the next two years,” said Sean McKeon, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing trade organization.

House Bill 918, Designation of Coastal Game Fish, would prohibit the sale and purchase of red drum and spotted sea trout and prohibit the use of nets to catch the two species, reserving the fish for recreational anglers only.

Introduced March 31, the bill was referred to the House Marine Resources and Aquaculture Committee, but has not been taken up by the committee, which is chaired by Rep. Tim Spear whose district includes Dare and Hyde counties.

“HB 918 might slowly suffocate in committee due to political reasons, but the merits of this bill will be determined by the longevity of the idea and whether it continues to come back up again and again in the future,” said Dean Phillips, a Topsail Island businessman active in the Coastal Fisheries Reform Group, the recreational fishing organization that lined up legislative sponsors for the bill.

Phillips said the state’s changing demographics make a compelling case for adopting game fish status.

“North Carolina is the fastest growing state east of the Mississippi, and many of our new residents are baby-boomers hitting retirement age and moving here with a fishing rod in their hands,” he said.

He predicted that conflicts between commercial and recreational fishermen would escalate, especially in the shallow-water creeks where both groups target spotted sea trout.

“Recreational anglers are pumping a tremendous amount of money into the economy,” Phillips said, noting that red drum and spotted sea trout are the most popular species targeted by anglers in coastal waters.

Phillips said that in contrast, the fish are not reliable sources of income for commercial fishermen, and made up only 0.6 percent of the total revenue paid to commercial fishermen over the last 10 years.

“But, that’s really an apples to oranges comparison,” said McKeon with the state commercial fishing organization.

He said ex-vessel prices, the money paid to commercial fishermen at the docks for their fish catches, doesn’t measure the impact of commercial fishing activity on the economy.

And, McKeon said that even though the money made from red drum and spotted trout isn’t huge, it still contributes to watermen’s annual incomes.

“This is really a make-or-break time for commercial fishermen when every dime counts,” he said.

HB 918 does provide some compensation to watermen for lost income and outlawed gear, using money from recreational fishing license sales.

“Income mitigation is something that is doable. The guys in the creeks could consider turning into guides. There was a 400 percent increase in the number of guides in Texas after these species became game fish there,” said Phillips.

However, the state marine fisheries agency has cautioned that using recreational license funds to compensate displaced fishermen could run counter to legislative intent and could jeopardize federal funds the state receives from a special tax on sportfishing equipment.

The agency does not support HB 918.

“My position remains that the bill is inconsistent with the Fisheries Reform Act that guides fisheries management in North Carolina,” said Louis Daniel, director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

The Fisheries Reform Act of 1997 requires the state to develop management plans for important commercial and recreational species, with assistance from citizen advisory committees.

The management plan for red drum has resulted in a population well on its way to robust levels, according to the most recent stock assessment. The recreational red drum harvest tallied 320,338 pounds in 2007, and the commercial harvest was 243,227 pounds.

A spotted sea trout plan should be completed within the next year. In 2007, recreational fishermen landed 961,167 pounds of sea trout, while commercial fishermen caught 374,708 pounds.

Daniel said the state could adopt temporary measures to address overfishing and user conflicts in the spotted sea trout fishery, such as increasing the minimum size limit and restricting fishing activity, until the management plan for the fishery is completed.

“I believe that consideration by the (Marine Fisheries) commission in May of some interim rules is a reasonable approach and fully consistent with the Fisheries Reform Act,” said Daniel.

April 7, 2009

Legislation would make red drum and spotted sea
trout off limits to commercial fishermen

By SUSAN WEST

Red drum and spotted sea trout would be off-limits to commercial harvest in North Carolina if a bill introduced March 31 becomes law.

House Bill 918, Designation of Coastal Game Fish, would prohibit the sale and purchase of the species and prohibit the use of nets to catch the fish. Currently the only species designated a gamefish in the state is tarpon, a fish with no culinary value in the U.S.

The Coastal Fisheries Reform Group, a grassroots recreational fishing organization, sought legislative support for gamefish designation after the state Marine Fisheries Commission declined to adopt sea trout rules requested by the group in January, according to the organization’s weblog. The group had asked for an immediate ban on spotted sea trout gill-netting in coastal creeks from October through April each year.

The organization maintains that reserving red drum and spotted sea trout for recreational fishermen would result in better protection of the resource and greater economic benefits for the state, predicting that North Carolina “would soon establish itself as the premier sport fishery state for these two fish in the whole country.”

In 2007, recreational fishermen landed 961,167 pounds of sea trout, while commercial fishermen caught 374,708 pounds, according to the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.

The recreational red drum harvest tallied 320,338 pounds that year, and the commercial harvest was 243,227 pounds.

Both species are managed by the state Marine Fisheries Commission under fishery management plans developed by the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF).

“My position is that the bill is inconsistent with the Fisheries Reform Act,” said Louis Daniel, DMF director.

The 1997 Fisheries Reform Act requires the state to develop management plans for important commercial and recreational species.

“We are responsible for ensuring sustainable fisheries that are regulated fairly for both commercial and recreational fishermen,” said Daniel.

The management plan for red drum, the official state fish, has resulted in a population well on its way to robust levels, according to the most recent stock assessment.

“Both commercial and recreational fishermen have played key roles in the harvest reduction strategies and should equally share the recovery benefits,” Daniel said.

A spotted sea trout plan should be completed within the next year, according to the DMF chief.

A January stock assessment identified the species as overfished, with recent increases of recreational fishing mortality largely contributing to stress on the stock.

The Coastal Fisheries Reform Group is a new organization, but two of its spokesmen are well known in fisheries management. Joe Albea is host of “Carolina Outdoor Journal,” a UNC-TV program, and Dick Hamilton worked for the state Wildlife Resources Commission until August, 2007, when he abruptly resigned his post as executive director.

The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina, another recreational fishing organization, also supports the gamefish bill.

HB 918 authorizes the state fisheries commission to pay commercial fishermen for lost income, using up to $1 million from the Marine Resources Fund, the fund for revenue from recreational fishing license sales.

The bill also authorizes compensation for gear used exclusively to catch drum and sea trout in 2008.

More than 25 commercial fishermen on Hatteras Island would be directly impacted by the legislation, according to James Caldwell, a net supplier on the island.

Sponsors of HB 918 are Paul Luebke (D-Durham) and Carolyn Justice (R-New Hanover).

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Marine Resources and Aquaculture.