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Release: Immediate Contact: Patricia Smith STATE SEEKS FISHERMEN FOR CULTCH PLANTING JOBS MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for fishermen who want to participate in planting oyster shells this spring. The division is partnering with the North Carolina Coastal Federation in a federal economic recovery grant to create jobs to assist the state with oyster rehabilitation. One component of the grant will pay fishermen to plant oyster shell for the state’s Cultch Planting Program. The division will pay fishermen to plant 41,000 bushels of oyster shell on cultch planting sites in coastal North Carolina. The sites are located in Hyde, Carteret, Onslow and New Hanover counties. Fishermen will be paid $2 per bushel. The division will provide baskets loaded with oyster shell for participants to transport with their vessels. To ensure the jobs are economically attractive to fishermen, the division may limit the number of participants and the amount of shell each participant transports daily. Planting operations are planned from April 5 to July 31 and may take place simultaneously in more than one county. Plans call for fishermen to distribute 10,000 bushels of shell in Hyde County, 11,000 bushels in Carteret County, 18,000 bushels in Onslow County and 2,000 bushels in New Hanover County. To qualify, fishermen must have filed at least one commercial landing trip ticket with the division’s Trip Ticket Program between July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2009. Fishermen may apply by downloading an application form and returning it to the division by Feb. 26. The form can be found on the division Web site at http://www.ncdmf.net/shellfish/download/cultch_application.pdf. For more information, contact Clay Caroon, head of the division’s cultch planting program, at (252) 808-8058 or [email protected]. |