FF-38-2001
Preston
P. Pate, Jr., Director, Division of
Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:01 A.M., Monday, May 14, 2001, the following restrictions will
apply to the black sea bass commercial fishery
north of Cape Hatteras (35E 15' N.
Latitude):
I.
SIZE
LIMIT
No
person may possess aboard a vessel black sea bass less than 10 inches in total
length.
II. HARVEST
LIMITS
A.
Quarter I Harvest Period
No
person may possess aboard a vessel or land within a 24 hour period more than
4,500 pounds of black sea bass through March 31, 2001.
No person may land more than
1,000 pounds of black sea bass per week from May 14, 2001 through June 30,
2001.
For
the purposes of this proclamation, a week shall be from 12:01 A.M. Sunday to
midnight the following Saturday.
C.
Quarter III
Harvest Period
No person may possess aboard a vessel or land within a
24 hour period more than 1,000 pounds of black sea bass from July 1, 2001
through September 30, 2001.
No person may possess aboard a
vessel or land in a 24 hour period more than 2,000 pounds of black sea bass
from October 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001.
III. GEAR
RESTRICTIONS
A. TRAWLS:
The
following restrictions apply when 200 or more pounds of black sea bass are
possessed on board the vessel:
1. No person may use or possess on deck trawls
with a cod end (tailbag) less than 4 inches hung on a diamond or less than 3
1/2 inches hung on a square. The cod
end of the trawl is defined as:
(a) At least 75 continuous meshes forward of the
terminus (end) of the net; or
(b) The terminal one-third portion (measured from
the terminus of the cod end to the head rope) of the net, if the cod end is
less than 75 meshes.
2.
Tailbag liners of any mesh size or
double hung cod ends may not be used or possessed on the deck of a vessel.
3. Rollers used in roller rig or rock hopper trawl gear shall be
no larger than 18 inches in diameter.
B. FISH TRAPS/POTS:
Black
sea bass pots or traps must conform with the Federal rule requirements for
escape vents specified in 50 CFR 648.144 (b)(1) and for degradable fasteners
specified in 50 CFR 648.144 (b)(3).
(See General Information, Item D).
IV. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. This
proclamation is issued under the authority of G.S. 113-182; 113-221(e);
143B-289.52 and N.C. Marine Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H .0103, 3M .0506(b)(1)
and .0512.
B. It is unlawful to violate the provisions of
any proclamation issued by the Fisheries Director under his delegated authority
per 15A NCAC 3H .0103.
C. This
proclamation is issued pursuant to emergency action taken by Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) on April 3, 2001 establishing state
possession limits for the Quarter II black sea bass season when certain
landings triggers were reached.
D. The
emergency management measures adopted by ASMFC specify that when 40% of the
Quarter II quota is projected to be landed the states are required to reduce
the trip limit to 150 pounds per day or 1, 000 pounds per week until the entire
Quarter II quota is projected to be landed.
The ASMFC staff has projected that 40% of the Quarter II quota will be
landed by mid-May.
E. The
intent of this proclamation is to allow North Carolina to comply with the
requirements of the joint Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council-Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass
Fisheries Management Plan.
F. Copies of escape vent specifications for black sea bass pots north of Cape Hatteras are available via the Federal Register posted on the Internet at www.access.gpo.gov and from the Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557.
G. This proclamation supersedes FF-20-2001,
dated February 5, 2001.
May 11, 2001
11:00 AM.
FF-38-2001
/sab