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, January 5, 2004, 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 2003/2004 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., Thursday,
April 15, 2004, 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; 113-182; 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 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.
I.
This proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-40-2003, dated
October 17, 2003.
December
9, 2003
8:30
A.M.
FF-51-2003
/sab