RE: STRIPED BASS
SEASON - COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS - INTERNAL COASTAL WATERS OF CARTERET,
CRAVEN, BEAUFORT, AND PAMLICO COUNTIES, PAMLICO SOUND, AND PUNGO AND WHITE OAK
RIVERS AS DESCRIBED BELOW
Preston P. Pate, Jr.,
Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:01 A.M., Tuesday, April 1, 2003,
the striped bass season WILL CLOSE
in the areas described below for COMMERCIAL
FISHING OPERATIONS.
I. AREA
DESCRIPTION
A. Pamlico
and Pungo rivers and their joint and coastal water tributaries west of a line
beginning at a point on the north shore 35°
22.3000' N - 76° 28.2667 W
(Roos Point) running 198° (M) through
Marker #1 to a point on the south shore 35°
18.8000 N - 76° 29.0000 W (Pamlico
Point).
B. Jones Bay/Bay
River - west of a line at Sow Island Point at 35° 13.0167 N - 76°
29.7000 W, running 226° (M) to a point
at Bay Point at 35° 11.0833 N-76° 31.5667 W, then running 201° (M) to Maw Point at
35° 09.0333 N-76° 32.1667 W.
C. Neuse River -
west of a line beginning at Maw Point at 35°09.0333N
- 76° 32.1667 W, running
161°(M) to Point of Marsh
at 35° 04.5500 N - 76° 28.2333 W.
D. West Bay- south
of a line beginning at a point at 35°
03.5167 N - 76° 26.1333 W,
running 117° (M) to a
point at 35° 02.1833 N-76° 21.7500 W.
E. All internal
coastal waters of Carteret County south of a line from Camp Point at 35° 00.0833 N - 76°
14.8000 W, through Wainwright Island running 115°(M) to a point on Core Banks at 34° 58.8167 N -76°
12.4667 W to and including all of White Oak River up to the Inland Water
boundary.
F. Pamlico Sound- south of a line from Roanoke Marshes Point 35°
48.3693N- 75° 43.7232 W to the north
point of Eagle Nest Bay 35° 44.1710N 75° 31.0520' W [southern boundary of
the Albemarle Sound Management Area (ASMA) to the boundaries of I.A.-I E.
II. SEASON
No person may take, possess, transport, buy, sell or offer
for sale striped bass from the area defined above, except dealers will have
until April 15, 2003 to sell, offer for sale, transport, or have in possession
unfrozen striped bass taken in this fishery prior to the closure.
III. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. This proclamation is issued under the authority of G.S. 113-182;
113-221(e); 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 143B-289.52; and N.C. Marine Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H .0103, 3I .0112, 3M .0201,
.0202 and 3Q .0107.
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 spring allotment of the
Central Management Unit quota (20,000 pounds) for striped bass has been reached.
The intent of this proclamation is to equitably distribute the quota
established by the North Carolina Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management
Plan.
D. The striped bass
Dealer Permit validated for the Central Area will no longer be valid upon this
closure. Permittees must submit
required reporting logs (where such reports have not been faxed) to the
Division of Marine Fisheries Elizabeth City office by Friday, April 7, 2003.
E. This
proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-17-2003, dated February 24, 2003, which
opened the above area.
March 26, 2003
1:00 P.M.
FF-28-2003
/sab