RE: STRIPED BASS SEASON – COMMERCIAL FISHING
OPERATIONS –
Preston P.
Pate, Jr., Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that
effective at 12:01 A.M., Monday,
November 19, 2001, the harvest of striped bass with COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS IN THE ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA
WILL OPEN and the following provisions shall apply:
Albemarle Sound Management Area as described in Marine
Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3O .0503 (b)(2)(A)(ii).
II. SIZE AND HARVEST RESTRICTIONS:
A. No person may take,
possess, transport, buy, sell, or offer for sale striped bass less than 18
inches total length taken by commercial fishing operations from the Albemarle
Sound Management Area.
B. No individual or fishing operation regardless
of the number of persons or vessels involved, may possess, land, sell or offer for sale more than five (5) striped
bass per day, taken in conjunction with other commercially important
finfish. Striped bass will be limited
to 50% by weight, not to exceed 5 fish per day, per Standard Commercial Fishing License (SCFL) holder, of the
combined daily harvest. The daily
harvest limit of 5 striped bass per day
shall not be exceeded, regardless of where taken from internal waters, unless the fish are taken in accordance
with II. C. below.
C. Any
operation consisting of more than one SCFL holder may only be in possession of
no more than two daily harvest limits.
A SCFL holder must accompany each single harvest limit until the time of
sale to a dealer possessing a valid 2001/2002 STRIPED BASS DEALER PERMIT
validated for the Albemarle Sound Management Area.
A. No dealer may
possess, buy, sell or offer for sale striped bass taken from the Albemarle
Sound Management Area without holding a valid STRIPED BASS DEALER PERMIT
validated for the Albemarle Sound Management Area from the N.C. Division of
Marine Fisheries. Dealers must abide by
all conditions which appear on the
permit as well as the general provisions which appear in 15A NCAC 3O .0500.
B. Only
a STRIPED BASS DEALER PERMIT validated for the Albemarle Sound Management Area
may be used for transactions involving striped bass taken from the areas opened
by this proclamation.
C. Striped bass
lawfully sold to a permitted dealer may be resold to a non-permitted wholesale
or retail market provided the initial permitted dealer records their dealer
identification
number on each bill of lading or receipts involved in the shipment of striped
bass. Any individual or corporation who
holds a current finfish dealer license must obtain a STRIPED BASS DEALER PERMIT
validated for the Albemarle Sound Management Area in order to sell any striped
bass personally harvested.
IV. SALE TAGS:
No dealer may possess, buy, sell, or offer for sale striped bass taken
from the Albemarle Sound
Management Area without having affixed either a North Carolina Division of
Marine Fisheries issued Albemarle Sound Management Area striped bass tag
affixed through the mouth and gill cover.
In case of the striped bass imported from other states, a similar tag
that is issued for striped bass in the state of origin must be affixed.
V. LANDING RESTRICTIONS:
Striped bass taken from
areas opened by this proclamation may be sold only to and purchased by a dealer
possessing a STRIPED BASS DEALER PERMIT validated for the Albemarle Sound
Management Area.
VI. SEASON CLOSURE:
The striped
bass season for commercial fishing equipment in the Albemarle Sound Management
Area will close at midnight, Friday,
December 21, 2001, unless closed by proclamation at an earlier date due to
the harvest allocation being met.
Dealers will have until two weeks after the closing of the season to
sell, offer for sale, transport, or have in possession unfrozen striped bass
taken in this fishery.
VII. GENERAL INFORMATION:
A. This proclamation
is issued under the authority of G.S. 113-169.1; 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 113-182;
113-221 (e); 143B-289.52; and the N.C. Marine Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H
.0103, 3M .0201 and 3M .0202, 3O .0500 and 3Q .0107 (1)(c).
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. The
intent of this proclamation is to allow the harvest of striped bass in the
Albemarle Sound Management Area by commercial fishing equipment within the
harvest quota established by the North Carolina Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery
Management Plan.
D. Hook-and-line
fishing equipment is not commercial fishing equipment in the striped bass fishery and it is illegal to sell or
purchase striped bass taken by hook-and-line in accordance with N.C. Marine
Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3M .0201 (b).
E. Holders of RCGL
licenses or hook-and-line fishermen must follow the bag limit and harvest
restrictions of the recreational fishery for striped bass.
F. All
striped bass taken during the season closures and all undersize striped bass
shall be
immediately returned to the water where taken,
regardless of the condition of the fish.
G. STRIPED BASS DEALER PERMITS validated for the
Albemarle Sound Management Area are available at no cost from all N.C. Division
of Marine Fisheries License Offices.
H. This
proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-30-2001, dated March 21, 2001.
I.
Dealers whose businesses are in Hyde, Dare, Tyrrell,
Washington, Bertie, Chowan, Pasquotank, Camden,
Hertford and other northern counties may obtain tags by contacting the Columbia
Marine Patrol Office at 1-800-405-7774
or (252) 796-1322. Allow 48 hours for
delivery.
November
7, 2001
9:00
A.M.
FF-55-2001
/sab