RE: GILL NETS - ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT
AREA
Preston P. Pate, Jr., Director, Division
of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:01 A.M., Friday, April 15, 2005 the following provisions shall
apply to the use of gill nets in the ALBEMARLE
SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA.
I.
AREA
DESCRIPTION:
The
Albemarle Sound Management Area as
described in Marine Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 3R .0201 (a) excluding Inland
Fishing Waters.
II. COMMERCIAL NET RESTRICTIONS:
Only
gill nets meeting the specified mesh lengths shall be used in the areas
identified below. A fishing operation,
regardless of the number of vessels or persons involved, shall not use more
than the lengths of gill nets specified for the following areas:
Albemarle
Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound and Roanoke Sound
A. Gill
nets with a mesh length of 3 ¼ inches shall not be greater than 30 meshes deep
or exceed 800 yards in length. Gill
nets with a mesh length of 3 ¼ inches shall not be set in depths of water less
than 7 feet, unless attended at all times.
Gill nets of 3 ¼ inches must be
sunk and so as not to fish within 3 feet
of the waters surface.
B.
Gill nets with a mesh
length of 3 ¼, 3 ¾ and 4 inches may be used east of a line from Baum Point 35°
55.1602’ N-75° 39.5736’ W to Rhodoms Point 36° 00.2146’ N- 75° 43.6399’ W and
east of a line from Eagleton Point 36° 01.3178’ N- 75° 43.6585’ W to Long Point
36° 02.4971’N-75° 44.2261’ W at the mouth of Kitty Hawk Bay. Gill nets with a mesh length of 3 ¼, 3 ¾ and
4 inches may also be used south of the Business Highway
64/264 bridge at Manns Harbor. Gill
nets with a mesh length of 3 ¼, 3 ¾ and 4 inches shall not exceed 800
yards. Gill nets of 3 ¼ inches set
in these areas are exempt from the 7 feet depth restriction and being sunk 3
feet below the waters surface.
C. The
total amount of small mesh gill nets ( 3 ¼ inch, 3 ¾ inch, and 4 inch) used
shall not exceed 800 yards in any combination.
No other mesh sizes below 5 ¼ are
allowed except those listed. Gill nets with a mesh length of 5 ¼ inches and
larger described in II. D. and E. may not exceed 3,000 yards combined.
D. Gill
nets with a mesh length of 5 ¼ inches and larger that are equipped with floats
that do not exceed 2 inches in diameter and 6 inches in length placed a minimum
of 10 yards apart, not to exceed 11 floats per 100 yards of net. Nets must not exceed 3,000 yards in length
and must be set so as to fish on the bottom not to exceed a vertical height of
48 inches.
E. All gill nets with a mesh length of 5¼ inches and
larger not meeting the criteria in Section II. D. for floats are required to be
equipped with tie downs spaced no farther apart than 30 feet restricting the
vertical distance between the top and bottom lines to 48 inches or less. Nets must not exceed 3000 yards in length
and must be set so as to fish on the bottom not to exceed a vertical height of
48 inches.
F. No
gill nets may be used in the area southwest of a line from Black Walnut Point
35° 59’ 23” N- 76° 41’ 00” W, running 138° (M) to a point 35° 56’ 20”N- 76° 36’
02” W at the mouth of Mackey’s
Creek, including Roanoke, Cashie, Middle and Eastmost rivers.
III. SEASON CLOSURE:
The
season for the use of commercial gear described in Section II. A., B., and C.
but excluding Section II. D. and E., will
close by proclamation at a later date.
The 100 yards of gill net allowed
Recreational Commercial Gear License holders must adhere to the net
configurations and mesh sizes in the waterbodies described in this proclamation
for commercial fishing operations. The Roanoke, Middle, Eastmost and Cashie
rivers are closed to the harvest and possession of striped bass from gill nets.
V. GENERAL INFORMATION:
B. It is unlawful to violate 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 intent of this proclamation is to allow
directed fisheries for mullet, white perch and flounder while managing
Albemarle Sound Management Area striped bass and river herring stocks within
the quota established by the North Carolina Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery
Management Plan, the Albemarle Sound Area River Herring Fishery Management
Plan, and controlling the bycatch of striped bass in directed gill net
fisheries.
D. The prohibition of the use of 2 1/2 inch drift
gill nets in the Albemarle Sound River Herring
Management Area from January 1 through May 15 was effective January 1,
2001, in order to comply with the recommendations of the Albemarle Sound Area
River Herring Fishery Management Plan.
E. This
proclamation supersedes Proclamation M-3-2005, dated March 21, 2005.
April 7, 2005
10:30 A.M.
M-4-2005
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