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M-19-2006 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., Monday, January 1, 2007, the following provisions shall apply to the use of gill nets in the ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA. I. AREA DESCRIPTION: Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound and Roanoke Sound and their Joint Fishing Water Tributaries A. No gill nets with a mesh length of six inches or greater shall be used . C. Gill nets with a mesh length of 3 ¼ inches shall not exceed 800 yards. D. Gill nets with a mesh length of 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 ¾ and 4 inches may also be used south of the Highway 64/264 Business bridge at Manns Harbor. Gill nets with a mesh length of 3 ¾ and 4 inches shall not exceed 800 yards, in any combination in this area.. E. Gill nets with a mesh length of 5 ½ inches and larger are required to be equipped with tie downs spaced no farther apart than 10 yards, restricting the vertical distance between the top and bottom lines to 48 inches or less unless they 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 be set so as to fish on the bottom not to exceed a vertical height of 48 inches. Gill nets with a mesh length of 5 ½ inches and larger shall not exceed 3,000 yards in length combined for a fishing operation.
IV. RECREATIONAL NET RESTRICTIONS V. GENERAL INFORMATION: It is unlawful to violate 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. The intent of this proclamation is to allow directed fisheries for mullet, white perch, hickory shad and flounder while managing the Albemarle Sound Management Area striped bass stock within the quota established by the North Carolina Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan and the river herring stocks under a no harvest measure, as recommended by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission in the North Carolina River Herring Fishery Management Plan, and controlling the bycatch of striped bass in directed gill net fisheries.
December 20, 2006 |