FF-59-2003
RE: SPINY DOGFISH – COMMERCIAL FISHING
OPERATIONS – ATLANTIC OCEAN
Preston
P. Pate, Jr., Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that
effective at 12:01 A.M., Thursday,
January 1, 2004, the following restrictions will apply to the commercial
spiny dogfish fishery in the Atlantic Ocean:
Beginning at 12:01 A.M., Thursday, January 1, 2004, no commercial fishing
operation, regardless of the number of people involved, may have total landings
of more than 2,000 pounds of
spiny dogfish per day taken from the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean spiny
dogfish fishery will close immediately after the Director issues a public
notice that the quota of spiny dogfish of 500,000 pounds has been landed from
the Atlantic Ocean, or at 6:00 P.M.,
April 30, 2004, whichever occurs first.
II. PERMITS
A. Finfish
dealers may not buy more than 100 pounds of spiny dogfish caught in the
Atlantic Ocean per day per commercial fishing operation unless the dealer has a
valid 2004 Spiny Dogfish Dealer Permit from the North Carolina Division
of Marine Fisheries. Permits will be
issued only to those licensed fish dealers holding a valid license as
authorised in G.S. 113-169.3 Dealers must abide by all conditions of the 2004
Spiny Dogfish Dealer Permit as set out in Proclamation FF-42-2003, dated
November 10, 2003.
B. Dealers
possessing a 2004 Spiny Dogfish Dealer Permit shall report daily by noon through FAX transmittal
(252-726-3903) to the Division of Marine Fisheries flounder landings from the
Atlantic Ocean for the previous day.
A. This proclamation is issued under the
authority of G.S. 113-134; 113- 170.4; 113-170.5; 113-181; 113-182; 113-221(e);
143B-289.52 and NC Marine Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3M .0503, 3M .0506 and .0512
and 3O. 0500.
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. For the purposes of this proclamation, fish
shall be considered landed when fish are unloaded or the vessel is tied to the
dock, whichever occurs first.
D. Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3I .0113 specifies
that it is unlawful for any licensee under Chapter 113, Subchapter IV of the
General Statutes to refuse to allow the Fisheries Director or his agents to
obtain biological data, harvest information, or other statistical data
necessary or useful to the conservation and management of marine and estuarine
resources from fish in the licensees possession.
E.
The intent of this
proclamation is to allow North Carolina to comply with the requirements of the
joint Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission Spiny Dogfish Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) and to manage
the commercial spiny dogfish fishery under the quota system established by the
FMP. North Carolina is operating under
a statewide quota and these trip limits and harvest periods are intended to
constrain the harvest to the quota.
F.
This proclamation supersedes
Proclamation FF-54-2002, dated November 25, 2002.
December 29, 2003
12:30 P.M.
FF-59-2003
/dlt