RE: STRIPED BASS
SEASON - COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS - INTERNAL COASTAL WATERS OF CARTERET,
CRAVEN, BEAUFORT, AND PAMLICO COUNTIES, PUNGO RIVER, WEST BAY AND PAMLICO SOUND
Preston P. Pate, Jr.,
Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 6:00 P.M., Thursday, March 24, 2005, 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° 22.3622 N -
76° 28.2032 W (Roos
Point) running southerly through Marker #1 to a point on the south shore 35° 18.5906N - 76° 28.9530 W (Pamlico Point).
B. Jones Bay/Bay
River - west of a line at Sow Island Point at 35° 13.0166N-76° 29.7000' W,
running southwest to a point at Bay Point at 35° 11.0833' N-76°
31.5666'W, then running southerly to
Maw Point at 35° 9.0333 N -
76° 32.1666' W.
C. Neuse River - west
of a line beginning at Maw Point at 35° 09.0333'
N-76° 32.1666 W, running
southeast 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°
03.5166N - 76° 26.1333 W,
running southeasterly to a point at 35°
02.1833'N - 76° 21.7500' W.
E. 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) to the boundaries at the
mouths of all the rivers described in I.A.-I.D. and north 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.
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 3, 2005 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. 113-169.1; 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 113-182; 113-221.1(b);
143B-289.52; and N.C. Marine Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H .0103, 3I .0112, 3M .0201,
3 M .0202, 3O .0500 and 3Q .0107.
B. It is
unlawful to violate the provisions of any proclamation issued by the Fisheries
Director under his delegated authority per N.C. Marine Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC
3H .0103.
C. The annual allotment of the Central/Southern Management Area quota (25,000 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 is no longer 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 March 27, 2005.
E. This proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-8-2005, dated February 2, 2005, which opened the above area.
March 22, 2005
2:45 P.M.
FF-21-2005
/sab