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Not much good news for commercial fishermen in management review
By SUSAN WEST  There
was little good news for commercial fishermen in the fisheries
management review presented to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries
Commission (MFC) at its September meeting. David Taylor, manager of the fishery management plan section of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), updated commissioners on the management of striped bass, red drum, spiny dogfish, coastal sharks, and species in the snapper-grouper complex. Those species were the subject of a letter sent to the MFC by North Carolina Watermen United (NCWU) in March, 2006. The advocacy group for commercial fishermen and charter-boat captains asked the commission to ease restrictions on the commercial harvest of the species to prevent the collapse of the state’s seafood industry. Following a special meeting in May, 2006 to consider the request from NCWU, the commission voted to work for reform of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).  ASMFC is a regional compact that develops management plans for migratory species in the near-shore waters of member states. NMFS and eight regional councils develop plans for species in federal waters, three to 200 miles offshore. ASMFC and NMFS direct management of the five species included in the review by Taylor. Taylor reported that ASMFC has maintained a 480, 480 pound commercial harvest quota for the North Carolina ocean striped bass fishery. He said a new stock assessment would be completed in November and that the assessment will determine whether the ASMFC considers an increase in the commercial quota. Taylor cautioned, however, that the assessment would factor in significant increases in recreational harvests in recent years. In 2006, North Carolina recreational fishermen landed more than 2 million pounds of striped bass. Red drum fall under a state fishery management plan and an ASMFC plan. North Carolina commercial fishermen can land no more than seven red drum per day, and the total annual harvest can’t exceed 250,000 pounds. In 2006, North Carolina commercial fishermen harvested 168,489 pounds. A new assessment shows improvement in the health of the stock, but managers have expressed concern that the assessment doesn’t consider regulatory discards, fish that are caught and returned to the sea after the seven-fish limit is met. Any changes in red drum regulations would need to be approved by ASMFC. NMFS and the federal councils manage spiny dogfish in federal waters, and ASMFC manages the species in state waters. Last fall ASMFC boosted the coastwide quota to 6 million pounds, while NMFS maintained a 4 million pound quota. Despite the increase in the ASMFC quota, weather and a lost market conspired to keep North Carolina fishermen on the sidelines of the fishery. Warm winter weather kept the fish off the coast of Virginia, and Virginia fishermen locked up the spiny dogfish market. Red Munden, DMF spiny dogfish scientist, said the number of dogfish processors in the United States shriveled after tight restrictions reduced domestic supplies. He noted that the two remaining processors have turned to fish from Canada and no longer rely on fish from United States fishermen. In 2006, North Carolina commercial fishermen landed 11,574 pounds of spiny dogfish. Coastal sharks are managed by NMFS. NMFS plans to keep an area between Oregon Inlet and Cape Fear closed to shark fishing from January through July and to turn the sandbar shark fishery into a limited, research fishery. North Carolina commercial fishermen harvested 856,440 pounds of coastal sharks in 2006. ASMFC is currently developing a shark management plan. Species in the snapper-grouper complex are managed by NMFS and the South Atlantic management council. In October, 2006, the council eased the fishing restrictions on red porgy, a species of nominal importance in North Carolina. Next year, the South Atlantic commercial quota for snowy grouper will drop to 84,000 pounds. North Carolina fishermen alone averaged annual landings of 101,353 pounds in the past six years. And, the black sea bass quota will drop to 309,000 pounds for the South Atlantic. Landings for commercial fishermen in North Carolina have averaged 470,098 pounds. The council plans to reduce gag grouper harvest by 30 percent and vermilion snapper by 61.4 percent. 
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