Marine Fisheries Commission approves 14 Coastal Recreational Fishing License Grants

MOREHEAD CITY – Revenues from the N.C. Coastal Recreational Fishing License will pay nearly $2 million in the coming year toward projects to help provide coastal fishing access and fisheries and habitat research.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, in December, approved 14 grants, totaling $1.78 million, for the 2014 cycle.

The grants are sorted into three focus areas. Grants that fall under the People Focus Area include public education and public water access projects. Grants that fall under the Fish Focus Area are fisheries research projects. Grants that fall under the Habitat Focus Area are projects that enhance, protect or research fisheries habitat.

People Focus Area – Six grants totaling $1,177,798 were awarded:

· Wildlife Resources Commission, Rose Bay Boating Access Area – $250,000

One-year grant to upgrade the existing boating access area off U.S. 264, southeast of Scranton in Hyde County.

· Onslow Bay Artificial Reef Association, Enhancement of Three Artificial Reefs in Onslow Bay – $637,500

One year grant to add materials to the Billy Murrell, Meares Harris and Phillip Wolfe reefs.

· Wildlife Resources Commission, Dawson’s Creek Boating Access Area – $95,000

One-year grant to upgrade the existing boating access area off Janiero Road, northeast of the Minnesott Beach Ferry in Pamlico County.

· Wildlife Resources Commission, Turkey Creek Boating Access Area – $130,000

One-year grant to upgrade the existing boating access area on Turkey Point Road in Onslow County.

· Town of Morehead City, Newport River Beach Access Ramp Restrooms – $49,431

One year grant to complete a waterfront access project on Radio Island.

· Town of Carolina Beach, Freeman Park Hatteras Ramp and Signage – $15,867

One-year grant to construct a Hatteras ramp to provide better access at the entrance of Freeman Park.

Fish Focus Area – Five grants totaling $428,815 were awarded:

· N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Multispecies Tagging Program – $109,357

Multi-year grant to tag striped bass, red drum, spotted seatrout, and southern flounder, which will provide independent estimates of abundance and biomass, as well as data on migration rate.

· N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Carcass Collection Program – $17,300

Multi-year grant to continue funding a coast-wide carcass collection program.

· N.C. State University, Stock Structure of Spotted Seatrout: Assessing Genetic Connectivity at Northern Latitudinal Limits – $111,507

Multi-year grant to study population structure of spotted seatrout, which will allow researchers to accurately delineate stock boundaries.

· East Carolina University, Maturation and Fecundity of the Central Southern Management Area Striped Bass Stock – $40,035

One-year grant to continue research on striped bass and provide the Division of Marine Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Commission with the ability to differentiate between the wild and hatchery reared striped bass stock.

· University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Estimating Mortality for Southern Flounder Using Combined Telemetry and Conventional Tagging Approach – $150,616

Multi-year grant to tag southern flounder providing data to be incorporated directly into future stock assessments.

Habitat Focus Area – Three grants totaling $176,500 were awarded:

· N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Mapping Along the Southern North Carolina Coast – $16,500

Multi-year grant to complete mapping submerged aquatic vegetation along the North Carolina coast.

· N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Monitoring of Oyster Sanctuaries and Fish Habitat with Underwater Environmental Equipment – $145,000

One-year grant to purchase underwater camera and equipment to monitor and study oyster sanctuaries and fish habitat.

· N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Recycled Oyster Shell Collections: Shell as a Critical Habitat – $15,000

One-year grant to provide additional shell material needed for oyster habitat restoration projects through continued collection of shell from recycling sites.

For more information on these grants or the Coastal Recreational Fishing License grant program, contact Beth Govoni, Coastal Recreational Fishing License grants coordinator, at 252-808-8004 or Beth.Govoni@ncdenr.gov.

New black drum harvest limits take effect Jan. 1

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding fishermen that new harvest limits on black drum will take effect New Year’s Day.

Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, issued a proclamation today that implements the following regulations Jan. 1:
14- to 25-inch total length slot size limit (except one fish longer than 25 inches total length may be kept)
10-fish recreational bag limit
500-pound commercial trip limit.

For specific requirements, see Proclamation at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamation-ff-73-2013

An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan requires states to implement black drum possession limits and a minimum size limit of at least 12 inches by Jan. 1, 2014 and at least 14 inches by Jan. 1, 2016.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission voted at its November business meeting to implement the more restrictive size limit to avoid confusion of another change in two years.

For more information, contact Chris Stewart in the division’s Wilmington office, at 910-796-7370 or Chris.Stewart@ncdenr.gov.

USACE dredging schedule: Looks like Bogue Inlet will get some dredging later this month. The Merritt will be here from Dec. 11-17 and Dec. 27-31.
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Portals/59/docs/navigation/Dredging/FY14%20Dredge%20Schedule-%203%20Dec%2013.pdf

                         Commercial red drum season closes tomorrow

MOREHEAD CITY – Commercial fishermen have likely exceeded the red drum harvest limit allocated for the winter harvest period, and the season will close Saturday.

Landings calculated just from electronically-submitted trip tickets showed fishermen have caught 144,258 pounds of the 150,000-pound harvest limit allocated for the Sept. 1 – April 30 harvest period. Paper trip tickets for September and October have not yet been entered into the database, and most of the November trip tickets have not yet been received.

“Since many fishermen report their landings through paper trip tickets, the red drum landings may be above the harvest limit for this period,” said Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

Daniel issued a proclamation today closing the fishery as of 8 a.m. Saturday. For specifics on the closure see Proclamation FF-61-2013 at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamations.

Daniel said he will present options for dealing with any overages to the annual harvest limit at the February Marine Fisheries Commission meeting.

The N. C. Red Drum Fishery Management Plan allows for an annual harvest limit (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31) of 250,000 pounds. Of that, 150,000 pounds is allocated to the period Sept. 1- April 30 and the remainder is allocated to the period of May 1-Aug. 31. Overages in overall 250,000 pound harvest limit must be deducted from the subsequent year’s annual harvest limit.

The red drum season will not reopen until at least May 1, when the summer harvest season begins.
For more information, contact Lee Paramore in the division’s Manteo office at  252-473-5734  or Lee.Paramore@ncdenr.gov.

Marine Fisheries Commission adopts changes in shad/black drum fisheries (I have edited this to cover black drum, spotted sea trout and sheepshead only)

MOREHEAD CITY – Action taken by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission last week will bring regulatory changes in the American shad and black drum fisheries in 2014.

The commission voted to shorten the American shad season in the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River system. The commission also voted to implement recreational and commercial size and possession limits for black drum.

There are no size and possession limits on black drum in North Carolina, but an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan requires states to implement black drum possession limits and a minimum size limit of at least 12 inches by Jan. 1, 2014 and at least 14 inches by Jan. 1, 2016. The commission voted to implement the following regulations:

14- to 25-inch total length slot size limit (but allow one fish longer than 25 inches total length to be kept)
10-fish recreational bag limit
500-pound commercial trip limit

In other business, the commission:

Approved a draft supplement to the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan for a 60-day public comment period, from Nov. 18-Jan. 18. The draft supplement provides the commission with alternatives to stricter commercial and recreational spotted seatrout fishing regulations set to begin in February.

Adopted a slate of other rules that include giving the division director proclamation authority to set size, recreational bag, commercial trip, gear, season and time restrictions on the taking of sheepshead if needed to maintain a sustainable harvest…