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Fisheries Bulletin Board
Oyster clutch planting meetings set for March
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold six public meetings in March to receive suggestions and comments on cultch planting - where shells and rock are placed to enhance shellfish habitat in potentially productive shellfish areas. Oysters, clams, and other aquatic life are attracted to the cultch and will begin to immediately colonize the material. DMF’s shellfish rehabilitation staff members continually look for ways to improve the program. Annual meetings are held to provide fishermen and other interested parties the opportunity to give input regarding planting sites and on methods, materials and quantities of materials used. Though previously the program worked only with oysters, it has expanded to include clams. The meetings are on the following dates: • Monday, March 3, at 6 p.m., at the Town Hall in Varnumtown. • Tuesday, March 11, Division of Marine Fisheries, 127 Cardinal Drive Extended, Wilmington. • Wednesday, March 12. Pamlico County Courthouse, Bayboro. 6 p.m. • Wednesday, March 12, North Topsail Beach Town Hall at 6 p.m. • Thursday, March 13, Carteret County Courthouse, Beaufort. 6 p.m. • Monday, March 17, at the Ocracoke Fire Station at 6 p.m. • Tuesday, March 18, at 6 p.m. in the meeting room above the Hatteras village Post Office. Entrance at rear of Post Office. • Wednesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. at the small auditorium at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo • Monday, March 31, at the Swan Quarter Fire Station at 6 p.m. For more information contact DMF Resource Enhancement Chief Craig Hardy at (252) 808-8046 or (800) 682-2632. MFC northeast advisory meeting will be March 6 The Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) Northeast Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m., at the Hatteras Civic Center located on Highway 12 in Hatteras village. The AC will receive brief updates on recent MFC and DMF activities and will discuss the draft Red Drum Fishery Management Plan. If you have any questions, please call Sara Winslow at 252-264-3911 or 800-338-7805 or contact the Marine Fisheries Commission Office at 252-808-8022 or 800-682-2632. Meetings set to discuss future red drum management A series of meetings will begin next week offering the public an opportunity to discuss future management of North Carolina’s red drum fishery. The five meetings will detail proposals in a draft update to the state’s Red Drum Fishery Management Plan. A fishery management plan makes long-term regulatory recommendations for a fishery. The meetings will be held: Tuesday, March 4 - 6 p.m. McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman Street Raleigh Wednesday, March 5 - 6 p.m. Craven County, Agriculture Building, 300 Industrial Drive, New Bern Thursday, March 6 - 6:30 p.m. Hatteras Civic Center, Hwy. 12, Hatteras Tuesday, March 11- 6:30 p.m. Dobo Hall, Room 103, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Wilmington Wednesday, April 2 - Noon Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Regional Office, 943 Washington, Square Mall, Washington These meetings are being held in conjunction with scheduled advisory committee meetings for the Marine Fisheries Commission. Since April 2007, an advisory group, consisting of commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, and N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries staff has been discussing issues relating to the red drum fishery so as to revise the 2001 fishery management plan. The advisory committee drafted the proposed plan, now going out for public input. Once the public meetings are complete, the Marine Fisheries Commission will endorse all or portions of the plan, which is then sent to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the General Assembly for review and comment. The draft plan will come back before the Marine Fisheries Commission for any modifications and then the rulemaking process begins. When rulemaking is complete, the commission adopts the final plan and implements any needed rules. Included in the draft Red Drum Fishery Management Plan are management recommendations for trip and gear limits, educational outreach, environmental concerns and data needs. The public is encouraged to attend these meetings and share their thoughts on the future of the red drum fishery. Recommended changes to commercial harvest regulations Continue the current commercial regulations, which are a 250,000-pound annual harvest cap, prohibited possession of fish greater than 27 inches and a seven fish trip limit with a provision requiring that red drum make up no more than 50 percent of the total catch. The director of the Division of Marine Fisheries has authority to modify the trip limit. Or Continue the current 250,000-pound annual harvest cap, but increase the trip limit to 10 fish; allow possession of up to three fish while fishing, prior to meeting the 50-percent bycatch provision, so long as the total catch, upon landing, meets the 50-percent bycatch provision Recommended changes to attendance requirements for small mesh gill nets (smaller than 5-inches stretched mesh) Lengthen the seasonal attendance requirement for small mesh gill nets (currently May 1 – Oct. 31) to May 1 through Dec. 31 in primary and permanent secondary nursery areas and modified no-trawl areas, within 200 yards of the shoreline in areas north of Core Sound and within 100 yards of the shoreline in Core Sound and waters south. Or Require year-round attendance of small mesh gill nets in primary and permanent secondary nursery areas, except for the Albemarle Sound Management Area, Core Sound and waters south; lengthen the seasonal attendance (currently May 1 – Oct. 31) to May 1 – Nov. 31 in primary and permanent secondary nursery areas and modified no-trawl areas in Core Sound and waters south; and lengthen the attendance season to May 1 – Nov. 31 within 200 yards of the shoreline statewide, except for Core Sound and waters south during October and November Recommended changes to attendance requirements for large mesh gill nets (greater than 5 inches stretched mesh) Require unattended large mesh gill nets to be set a minimum of 25 yards from shore from June through October. Or Require unattended large mesh gill nets to be set parallel from shore and a minimum of 10 feet from shore in all state waters. Recreational size and bag limits No changes are recommended to the current recreational slot size and creel limit of one fish per day between 18 inches and 27 inches. Visit http://www.ncdmf.net/download/RDFMP_revised%20draf_%202-19-08.pdf to view the Red Drum Fishery Management Plan. For more information about red drum management, please contact Lee Paramore by e-mail at lee.paramore@ncmail.net or by calling 252-473-5734. 
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