RE: STRIPED BASS SEASON – COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS – ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA
Preston P.
Pate, Jr., Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that
effective at 12:01 A.M., Monday,
November 4, 2002, the harvest of striped bass with COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS IN THE ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA
WILL OPEN and the following provisions shall apply:
I. AREA DESCRIPTION
Albemarle Sound Management Area as described in Marine
Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3O .0503 (b)(2)(A)(ii). See Map
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, unless 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
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.
III. PERMITS
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 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 6:00 P.M., Friday,
December 20, 2002, 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. 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 113-169.1; 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 Marine 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. 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.
I. This proclamation supersedes Proclamation
FF-77-2001, dated January 7, 2002.
October 23, 2002
12:30 P.M.
FF-47-2002
/sab