FF-22-2005
RE: SCUP
Preston
P. Pate, Jr., Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that
effective at 6:01 P.M., Sunday, March
27, 2005, the following restrictions will apply to the commercial scup fishery in coastal waters including the Atlantic
Ocean north of Cape Hatteras (35° 15' N. Latitude):
I. SIZE
AND HARVEST LIMITS
A. No person may take, possess, buy, sell or offer for sale scup less than 9 inches in length.
B. No person may possess, sell or offer for sale more than 30,000 pounds of scup during each of the following two week periods when taken with commercial fishing equipment or for commercial purposes during the Winter I Harvest Period.
1. From 6:01 P.M.,
March 27, through 6:00 P.M. April 10, 2005.
2.
From 6:01 P.M.,
April 10, through 6:00 P.M. April 24, 2005.
C. No person may take, possess, buy sell or offer for sale more than 15,000 pounds of scup during the period from 6:01 P.M. April 24 through 6:00 P.M. April 30, 2005.
II. TRAWL
MESH REQUIREMENTS
The minimum mesh size for the commercial scup fishery will be 5 inches stretched mesh with a minimum length of 75 meshes from the terminus of the net. For small nets with less than 75 mesh codends, the entire net will be 5 inches .
III. GENERAL
INFORMATION
A. This proclamation is issued under the
authority of N.C.G.S. 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 and 3M .0514.
B. It is unlawful to violate the provisions of any proclamation issued by the Fisheries Director under his delegated authority pursuant to N.C. Marine Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3H .0103.
C. This proclamation is issued pursuant to
action taken by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission establishing trip limits for the scup
fishery in the Winter I period of 2005. The intent of this
proclamation is to maintain North Carolina’s compliance with the requirements
of the joint Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council-Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fisheries
Management Plan.
D. This proclamation sets out the
harvest periods and limits for the commercial scup season through the remainder
of the Winter I Harvest Period. If the
Winter I quota is being approached at any time prior to April 30, 2005, a
closure proclamation will be issued.
E. This
proclamation supersedes FF-16-2005, dated March 10, 2005.
March
23, 2005
9:00
A.M.
FF-22-2005
/sab