Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: March 26, 2008
Phone: (252) 726-7021

MICHAEL ERVIN PROMOTED TO MARINE PATROL LIEUTENANT

MOREHEAD CITY – Michael Ervin has been promoted to lieutenant of N.C. Marine Patrol District 3, which covers the southern coastal waters of the state.

Ervin received his lieutenant pins March 1, moving into the position formerly held by Jim Kelly, who was promoted to captain in November.

“He’s well deserving of this promotion,” said Marine Patrol Col. Rex Lanier. “His overall performance in different positions with Marine Patrol throughout the years has made him the best candidate for the job.”

Ervin began career with Marine Patrol in 1992 as a patrol officer stationed in Elizabeth City.

In 1994 he was assigned to Marine Patrol’s Royal Shoal patrol vessel, which operated in Morehead City. Six months later, he was stationed in Swansboro, where he worked for a year before moving to the Jacksonville area in 1995.

In October 2004, Ervin was promoted to line sergeant in the Hyde and Dare county areas. He was transferred back to Onslow County in January 2007, to work the areas from Emerald Isle to Wrightsville Beach.

Ervin, a fifth-generation Richlands native, described the move as coming back home.

“I’m deep-rooted in Richlands so it’s good to be home and work at home,” Ervin said.

He believes his tie to the area helps him do his job. The local fishermen feel more comfortable calling or approaching him with questions because they’ve known him for years, he said.

Ervin graduated from Richlands High School in 1985 and holds a Criminal Justice degree from Campbell University. Prior to joining Marine Patrol, he worked for the Jacksonville Police Department.

Ervin currently lives in Jacksonville with his wife, Leanne, and two children, Michael Jr., 9, and Mallory, 4.

He can be reached by phone at (910) 796-7286 or by e-mail at Michael.Ervin@ncmail.net.

Download a high-resolution photograph by clicking the photo above.

MARCH 25, 2008
PRESS CONTACT: TINA BERGER 202/289-6400

Washington, DC – The Commission's Shad and River Herring Management Board is in process of re-configuring its Shad & River Herring Advisory Panel. As part of that process, the Board is seeking nominations from nontraditional stakeholders to fill two seats on the panel. Examples of such stakeholders include, but are not limited to, nongovernmental organizations, grassroots organizations, and individuals/groups with an interest in fisheries, fish passage, and habitat conservation.

The intent of this action is to broaden the scope of public input to the Shad and River Herring Management Board as it develops two amendments to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring. One amendment is being developed in response to the findings of the 2007 benchmark stock assessment for American shad, indicating that American shad stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering, and the other in response to concerns regarding the depressed status of river herring stocks. The Commission believes that input from nontraditional stakeholders will strengthen its efforts in successfully managing shad and river herring species. Individuals interested in serving as advisors can obtain an advisory panel nomination form by contacting the Commission at (202)289-6400 or downloading the nomination form via the Commission's website at http://www.asmfc.org/ad_panel.htm.  A completed nomination form must be submitted to the Commission by 5:00 PM on April 24, 2008.

The Commission's advisory panel process was established to address its increasing responsibilities under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act. The Act mandates, among other considerations, that the Commission provide adequate public participation in its fishery management planning process, including at least four public hearings and procedures for submission of written comments to the Commission. In 2002 the Commission established the Advisory Panel Oversight Committee, comprised of a subset of legislative and governor-appointed Commissioners and Advisory Panel Chairs, to provide oversight to its advisory panel process. Advisory Panels have been developed for Atlantic herring, Atlantic menhaden, American eel, American lobster, black sea bass, bluefish, coastal sharks, horseshoe crab, northern shrimp, scup, shad & river herring, South Atlantic species (croaker, spot, spotted seatrout, Spanish mackerel, red drum), spiny dogfish, striped bass, summer flounder, tautog, weakfish, and winter flounder. For more information, please contact Tina Berger, Public Affairs Specialist, at (202) 289-6400 or tberger@asmfc.org.

*************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tberger@asmfc.org
www.asmfc.org

Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: March 14, 2008
Phone: (252) 726-7021

GILL NET RULES TO SOON CHANGE

MOREHEAD CITY – New gill net restrictions will soon go into effect for the Pamlico County bays and the Bay, Neuse and Pungo rivers.

Fishermen who use gill nets with greater than 5-inch mesh length will be required to equip them with 3-foot tie downs.

Also, nets with greater than 5-inch mesh length may not be set within 50 yards of the shore in upstream areas of the Neuse, Pamlico and Pungo rivers. Recreational gill nets are exempt from this regulation, if they attend their gill nets at all times.

The new regulations will be implemented by proclamation when the commercial striped bass season closes in these waters, likely around the first of April. Gill net fishermen should prepare for this change.

The restrictions are needed to reduce the bycatch of striped bass in large mesh gill nets in the Pamlico, Pungo, Bay and Neuse rivers in accordance with a N.C. Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan for the Central/Southern Management Area.

Once implemented, the regulations will stay in place through Dec. 31.

For more information, contact Katy West in the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Washington office at 1-800-338-7804 or at (252) 946-6481.

Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: March 13, 2008
Phone: (252) 726-7021

FISHERMAN SETS STATE RED GROUPER RECORD

MOREHEAD CITY – An Oak Island fisherman established a new state record for red grouper this fall.

Chuck Deeter of Oak Island caught the fish Oct. 13 off Atlantic Beach while fishing with Capt. Anthony Ng of Fish-Ng Charters.

The fish weighed in at 33 pounds, 8 ounces at Anchorage Marina in Atlantic Beach. The fish measured 35 inches in total length and had a 25.5 inch girth.

Deeter caught the fish on natural cut bait using hand-crank reels. The record grouper was one of several large fish that the charter caught that day.

There previously had been no state record for red grouper. Deeter’s fish met the criteria for establishing a new state record in that it was exceptional in size for North Carolina waters, and it was within a reasonable size range of the world record.

The world record red grouper was 42 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in St. Augustine, Fla.

Deeter will receive a framed certificate for his catch.

For more information, contact Carole Willis, N.C. Saltwater Fishing Tournament coordinator, at 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.

Deeter can be reached by telephone at (910) 338-1590 or by e-mail at cdeeter@ec.rr.com.

(Click on image for high resolution version)

Fisheries Forum Set for March 18

Contact:
Katie Mosher 919/515-9069
Heather Ward 919/515-1092

North Carolina Sea Grant, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) and the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) are co-sponsoring the third Marine Fisheries Forum at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center on March 18.  MFC advisors, the public, students, and anyone interested in cutting-edge fisheries research are encouraged to attend. 

In the morning session, B.J. Copeland, MFC vice chairman, will moderate a panel discussion on coastal habitat protection plans, water quality indicators, Inner Banks development, State of the Coast trends, and future research needs. 

In the afternoon, researchers, receiving support through the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant (FRG) and N.C. Blue Crab Research Program (BCRP) will present findings from recent projects. 

FRG presenters include: 

· Charles Van Salisbury and Blake Price.  Low Profile Gillnet Testing in the Deepwater Region of Pamlico Sound, North Carolina.

· Tom Burgess and Paul Rudershausen.  Determination of Catch Rates and Discard Mortality by Pot Type for the Black Sea Bass Commercial Pot Fishery. 

· Chris Butler and Jeff Buckel. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) Feeding Ecology and Potential Ecosystem Effects During Winter in NC Waters.

BCRP presenters include:

· Naomi Avissar, Ronnie Cahoon, Virginia Cahoon, and Larry Crowder. Testing a New Technique for Reducing Sea Turtle Damage to Crab Pots.

· Joseph Luczkovich, Terry West, and Mark Brinson. Analysis of Potential Effects on Land Cover Change on Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Populations in Primary Nursery Areas.

· Teresa Thorpe, and Tom Likos. Evaluation of Terrapin Excluder Devices on Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Pots, Effects on Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Bycatch and Target Catch Efficiency.

· Jason Hassell and Dinah Hassell. Minimizing Pot Loss and Retrieval of Lost Pots.

· Ruth McDowell, M. Zachary Darnell and Daniel Rittschof. Effects of Temperature and Body Size on Clutch Production in the Blue Crab, (Callinectes sapidus).

FRG and BCRP are funded by the N.C. General Assembly and administered by Sea Grant.  Both programs combine common-sense knowledge from members of local fishing communities with the analytical skills of university researchers. 

The forum is free.  Registration begins at 8 a.m.  For more information, contact Sea Grant extension specialists Bob Hines at rjhines@ncsu.edu, 252/222-6312; or Marc Turano at marc_turano@ncsu.edu, 919/513-0122. 

Details also are available online at www.ncseagrant.org under “About NCSG.”  Click on “Events Calendar.”