RE: RIVER HERRING
Preston P. Pate, Jr., Director, Division of Marine
Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:01 A.M., Monday, January 14, 2002, the following restrictions
will apply to the harvest of blueback herring and alewife (river herring):
The herring season will
open in all waters of the state.
A.
The commercial and
recreational herring seasons in all areas, excluding
the Albemarle Sound Herring Management Area and the Chowan River Herring
Management Area, will close at midnight on April
14, 2002.
B.
The herring season
for commercial purposes in the Albemarle Sound Herring Management Area and the Chowan River Herring Management Area
will close when the poundage allocations specified below are reached.
Proclamations closing the fisheries will be issued at that time.
C.
The river herring
season for recreational purposes in the Albemarle Sound Herring Management Area
and the Chowan River Herring Management Area will close at midnight on April 14, 2002.
II. AREA DESCRIPTION
The
Albemarle Sound Herring Management Area and the Chowan River Herring Management
Area as described in Marine Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3J .0209. The restrictions listed below apply to these
areas.
A. The
quota allocation, as set forth in Rule 3M .0513, for the pound net fishery in
the Chowan River Herring Management Area will be limited to a total of 200,000
pounds.
B.
The quota allocation
for commercial gill net fisheries within the Albemarle Sound Herring Management
Area and Chowan River Herring Management Area will be limited to a total of
67,000 pounds.
C.
An additional 33,000
pounds is available to be allocated at the discretion of the Fisheries
Director.
The river herring gill net season in the
Albemarle Sound and the Chowan River Herring Management Areas will close at midnight, January 27, 2002
and remain closed until 12:01 A.M.
Monday, February 18, 2002 when the season will re-open to the harvest of
the remaining portion of the
commercial gill net quota. The season will close by proclamation at a later time when the quota
is reached.
A. This proclamation is issued under the
authority of G.S. 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 113-134; 113-181; 113-182; 113-221 (e);
143B-289.52 and N.C. Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H .0103 and 3M .0513.
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 place
harvest limits on the pound net and gill net fisheries of Chowan River Herring
Management Area and the Albemarle Sound Herring Management Area in accordance
with restrictions adopted by the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission in
the River Herring Fishery Management Plan on February 17, 2000. Under this
Plan, the annual commercial quota for both areas is 300,000 pounds. This total is divided into 200,000 pounds
allocated to the pound net fishery in the Chowan River Herring Management Area,
67,000 pounds allocated to the gill net fishery in the Albemarle Sound Herring
Management Area, and 33,000 pounds to be allocated by the Director at his
discretion. The quota and allocations
apply to the calendar year.
D.
According
to Marine Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3M .0513, it is unlawful to possess more than
25 blueback herring or alewife (river herring), in the aggregate, per person,
per day, taken for recreational purposes.
E. Marine Fisheries Rule 15A
NCAC 3O .0503 (b)(3) requires dealer permits and related reporting requirements.
F. This proclamation supersedes proclamations FF-21-2001, dated
February 6, 2001, which closed the
Albemarle Sound and Chowan River Management Areas as well as FF-36-2001, dated April 24, 2001, which closed last
year’s Chowan River pound net season.
January
3, 2002
11:00
A.M.
FF-3-2002
/dlt