FF-40-2003
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, October 27, 2003, 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, 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
2003 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 12:01 A.M., Wednesday, December 31st , 2003,
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 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. This
proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-24-2003, dated March 17, 2003.
I.
Dealers whose
businesses are located 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.
October 17, 2003
10:15 A.M.
FF-40-2003
/dlt