DMF Home	About DMF	Contact DMF	DMF Offices

SHORT FISH DOESN'T MEASURE UP

MOREHEAD CITY - Virginia resident Randy Abbit, captain of the fishing vessel Saga, was arrested by the North Carolina Marine Patrol on August 15 for bringing in an undersized blue marlin during the Pirate's Cove 20th Annual Billfish Tournament in Manteo.

Abbit's blue marlin was just under 94 inches - well below the 99-inch state and federal legal minimum size and over 16 inches short of the tournament's 110-inch minimum standard.

"Fishermen have the responsibility to know state rules and regulations before they participate in the sport," said Col. Joe Lynch, head of the state Marine Patrol. "In addition, our tournaments work hard to ensure participants are well informed of event guidelines before the boats ever leave the dock."

Abbit, 51, of 53 James River Lane in Newport News, was charged with possession of an undersized fish and resisting arrest. He was taken to the Dare County jail where he was booked and then released after posting a secure $1,000 bond. Abbit is scheduled for a court appearance on September 9 in Dare County District Court in Manteo.

The state will seek a conviction and fine for the misdemeanor violation, as well as recovery of investigative and replacement costs for the billfish. Although the marlin was also short of the federal minimum size limit, the National Marine Fisheries Service declined to prosecute.

For more information about the case, please contact Colonel Joe Lynch, N.C. Marine Patrol, by e-mail at joe.lynch@ncmail.net or by phone at 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632.

STOCK STATUS RELEASED

Fish Stocks Show Continued Signs of Improvement

MOREHEAD CITY - Red drum, North Carolina's official state saltwater fish, has been upgraded from overfished to recovering based on a recent stock status report issued by the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Other stocks showing improvement include summer flounder, which moved from recovering to viable, black sea bass north of Cape Hatteras, which advanced from overfished to viable, and scup, which was elevated from overfished to recovering.

"North Carolina continues to move forward in protecting and restoring our coastal and saltwater fisheries," said Dr. Louis Daniel, Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) scientist in charge of the state's annual stock status report.

"Once again, this progress shows fishery management plans work. Summer flounder, red drum. black sea bass north of Cape Hatteras, scup, gag grouper, striped bass in the ocean and Albemarle Sound area, weakfish, Spanish and king mackerel, and bluefish have all recently recovered, or are on the road to recovery, based on the fishery management plan process at both the regional and state level," said Daniel.

Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) map out proactive long-term recovery strategies for fisheries. North Carolina is developing FMPs for all of its major fisheries.

The news is not all good for Tar Heel stocks, black sea bass south of Cape Hatteras and striped bass in central and southern state waters were both downgraded from concerned to overfished. Stricter size and bag limits issued by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council should help address the decline in sea bass stocks, while development of a new FMP including striped bass in all coastal waters should eventually turn that stock around in the central and southern area.

All other species covered in the report have remained the same.

The DMF's annual stock status report evaluates the health of North Carolina's important coastal fisheries, spotlighting successes, as well as areas of concern. Of the 40 stocks listed, 16 fall into the viable and recovering categories, nine are listed as concerned, nine are listed as overfished, and six are listed as unknown. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission uses this report to decide priority development of the state's FMPs.

To determine the status of Tar Heel fisheries, the DMF collects data and analyzes long-term trends in the length, weight, age, catch, and fishing effort for each stock. It also evaluates the total weight of the fish in a stock that are old enough to spawn, the number of juvenile or immature fish, fishing mortality, natural mortality, migration, size and age at maturity, regulatory impacts and bycatch.

Several stocks were not upgraded but continue to show strong signs of improvement under the FMP process.

Fish and shellfish stocks considered viable are black sea bass north of Cape Hatteras, striped bass in the Albemarle Sound and the ocean, dolphin/wahoo, summer flounder, gag grouper, king and Spanish mackerel, Atlantic menhaden, spot, spotted seatrout (speckled trout), shrimp and weakfish.

Recovering stocks include bluefish, red drum and scup.

Stocks listed as concerned include Atlantic croaker, striped mullet, white and yellow perch, reef fish, American shad, bay scallops, oysters and blue crabs.

Black sea bass south of Cape Hatteras, striped bass (in waters other than the ocean, Albemarle and Roanoke sounds), southern flounder, river herring in the Albemarle Sound, monkfish, sharks, spiny dogfish, Atlantic sturgeon and tautog are listed as overfished. In North Carolina, all overfished stocks either have regulations in place, or proposed regulations being developed, to stop overfishing and allow the populations to rebuild. The rebuilding process can take many years, especially if it is a long-lived species like red drum. Even if a species is recovering, it stays in the overfished category until a clear and consistent recovery trend is evident and it is declared recovering or viable.

The DMF does not have sufficient data to conduct appropriate assessments on the status of some stocks. These stocks are listed as unknown and include catfishes, American eel, river herring outside of Albemarle Sound, kingfishes (sea mullet), hickory shad and hard clams. The DMF is collecting the necessary assessment information for these important fisheries and will be moving many of these stocks into the appropriate categories over the next few years.

Visit the DMF's Web site at: http://www.ncdmf.net/stocks/index.html to view the new stock status report, along with species profiles and a glossary of fisheries terms. For more information about this stock status assessment, please contact Dr. Louis Daniel, DMF - Morehead City, by e-mail at Louis.Daniel@ncmail.net or by phoning at 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.

TAGGED CRABS YIELD BIG REWARD

MOREHEAD CITY - The must-have fashion accessory for any well-dressed crab this year is a shiny yellow tag wired to the crustacean's back.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is conducting a study on the migratory behavior of female blue crabs in Tar Heel waters to better understand this important fishery. Up to 7,500 mature female blue crabs will be tagged through November 2003 in order to determine staging areas, migration routes, timing and habitat of the female blue crab spawning stock. Blue crabs are the state's most economically important fishery valued at $29.3 million in 2002. Fishermen finding tagged crabs should remove the yellow tag and record the tag number, date and location of capture, gear used and whether or not the crab has a sponge or egg mass. Information should be mailed or called in to the division at:

N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries
P.O. Box 769
Morehead City, NC 28557
Attention: Crab Tagging Study
252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632

Fishermen will receive either a $5 reward or a hat for turning in information on any tagged crabs they find. Some crabs will have two tags on their shell - a recapture award for a double-tagged crab is $20. All fishermen returning tag information will be eligible for an annual drawing for a $100 and a $500 prize.

For more information on this study, please contact Lynn Henry at the Division of Marine Fisheries by e-mail at lynn.henry@ncmail.net or by calling 800-405-7774 or 252-796-1322.

MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION TO MEET AUGUST 18 - 20

MOREHEAD CITY -- The Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a business meeting August 18 - 20 at the Clarion Hotel in Raleigh.

The meeting is open to the public.

The business meeting begins at 8 p.m. on August 18 and will be preceded by a public meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., at the same location. Anyone wanting to address the commission regarding fisheries issues may do so at the public meeting or on August 19 at 9 a.m. during the public comment period. For more information, contact Jess Hawkins by e-mail at Jess.Hawkins@ncmail.net or by calling 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.

Click on http://www.ncdmf.net/mfc/advisor.html to review meeting summaries of past commission meetings.

See Meeting Agenda