THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408190655
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 244 lines
Four decades ago, almost 200 million pounds of finfish flopped across North Carolina seafood dealers' docks. The catch was hauled in with a combination of grit, muscle and superb seamanship.
Fishermen used wisdom and guts to buck the seas and track their quarry. They enjoyed almost a hero status as they fed their families and provided millions of mainlanders with fresh catch.
Today, the boats are bigger and better-equipped, and there are about twice as many of them. The emergence of high-tech fish finders has spawned schools of new-age watermen, who are now the bane of marine conservationists.
Over the past two decades, catches have gotten smaller while fish prices escalate. In North Carolina the 1993 catch was down a third from what fishermen there landed in 1963. Some calculate that seafood landings worldwide have declined 42 percent since 1982.
In Virginia and other states, the size of the harvest has been stable or even increased. But that is because fishermen are traveling farther and taking catch that, until recently, was considered ``junk.''
Many of the most desirable species have been so plundered that conservationists and some regulatory agencies consider them endangered. Among them are the Atlantic giant bluefin tuna.
According to the National Audubon Society, the bluefin's East Coast breeding population has declined more than 90 percent. An eight-fold increase in the catch of yearling swordfish over the past 10 years has caused the average weight of that fish to drop from 115 pounds to 60, the conservation group found.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's most recent report on the status of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast fishery ranks everything fromAtlantic cod to haddock, to Atlantic coast bluefish, to flounder and sea bass as either overexploited or fully exploited. The exceptions are less desirable catches like herring, mackerel and skate.
Overfishing appears to be a major culprit in the demise of the Atlantic Coast's - and the world's - commercial fishery. Pollution, a surge in recreational fishing and a morass of government regulation are also contributing to its demise, experts say.
The severity of the problem coupled with a growing level of concern is prompting Virginia, North Carolina and a number of jurisdictions to rethink the way the industry is regulated and to further restrict the amounts and kinds of fish that can be harvested.
``In the Northeast, there has been a large decline in a lot of offshore ocean species. In the mid- and south Atlantic, populations tend to go up and down. But the more valuable species all are in decline,'' said Paul Perra, director of the Inter-State Fisheries Management Program at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council.
``We're seeing a lot of warning signs now,'' Perra said recently from his Washington office. ``The resource is in much worse shape than before. It needs more attention now than it did 20 or even 10 years ago.
``If we don't work to stop the trend, fish populations will deteriorate even further.'' GLOBAL PROBLEM
North Carolina, Virginia and other Atlantic seaboard states are not alone. Across the globe, watermen are catching fewer fish. WorldWatch Institute, a nonprofit group, says the Earth's catch peaked in 1989.
In the past five years, it's dropped 5 percent. According to a flurry of recent reports on the industry, the oceans are being fished to their limits, and many commercial species are at risk.
``If countries continue to favor large-scale, industrial style fishing, some 14-20 million small-scale fishers and their communities are at risk,'' researcher Peter Weber wrote in a 62-page study, ``Net Loss: Fish, Jobs and the Marine Environment.''
Commercial fishermen, recreational anglers and governmental regulators agree that fish populations appear to be declining. They argue over the reasons. But all concede that new rules, management techniques and ideas will have to be employed to ensure plenty of fish for the future.
Commercial catches increased rapidly through the early 1980s. Then, as motors were helping watermen reel in ever-expanding nets, engines were allowing them to fish further out at sea and electronic fish-finding devices began eliminating most of the guesswork, fewer pounds of fish began showing up at the packing houses.
Fishermen blamed it on the environment: Pollution and overdevelopment along the coast have ruined their waterways, they said. Runoff and chemical discharges have eaten away the nurseries. No wonder net profits are decreasing, they lamented.
Biologists concur. But they also blame overfishing as part of the problem.
``Most finfish species are not in good condition. They've been overfished. They need to recover,'' said Jack Travelstead, head of the fisheries management division of Virginia's Marine Resources Commission.
``As stocks decline, prices go up. Future generations could be eating more fish grown by artificial means than ones caught in their natural environment,'' Travelstead said. ``We're just going to have to catch fewer fish.'' REGULATORY MORASS
Watermen say increasing regulations are making them an endangered species.
If the fish - and fishermen - are to survive, bureaucrats and watermen will have to work together, watermen say.
``Most of the laws started in the 1980s. But only in the past five years or so has it all hit the fan,'' said Jerry Schill, director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, which supports commercial fishermen and seafood industry employees. ``It's not just environmental pollution and declining fish populations that are the problems.
``The government is hurting fish and the commercial fishing industry, too.''
Regulators admit that some rules may have backfired - and others still need modification.
Government subsidies during the early 1970s brought many new people into the already expanding industry. From 1970 to 1990, the world's fishing fleet doubled: from 585,000 to 1.2 million large boats.
The world marine fish catch in 1989 sold for $70 billion, studies show. But catching the fish cost $124 billion. The difference of $54 billion was the amount of money national governments subsidized this industry out of taxpayers' pockets.
``In essence, these subsidies pay to deplete the world's supply of fish,'' according to Weber's marine economy study, released last month.
Minimum size limits cause dozens of netted fish to be tossed back, often to their peril. Trawl nets cannot distinguish between big and little fish, so they drag them all along the ocean floor. Small ones usually die before they can be tossed overboard.
Quota systems, which only allow states a certain number of pounds of fish per year - or quarter - sometimes cause watermen to fish ferociously at the beginning of the season. They wear out the resource. And flood the markets.
``In some cases, fish actually were left rotting on the docks because they couldn't find a market for them,'' Travelstead said. ``We called that derby fishing: Everybody goes out the first day and catches as much as they can.''
Virginia and other states, however, think they have found a solution. Instead of issuing regional quotes, they issue individual fish tags. Each waterman can catch a certain number of the quota-controlled species.
``That way, fishermen can decide when to fish and how to play the market,'' Travelstead said. ``It helps eliminate the black market by only allowing tagged fish to be sold. And it keeps the men fishing for three or four months instead of three or four days.
``Plus, the price stays up throughout the season.'' FINE-TUNING RULES
More quotas - and individual fish tags - will be mandated in the near future, fisheries management experts say.
Ten years ago, Atlantic fishermen did not have to adhere to any quota systems or per-trip limits. Today, flounder, striped bass, grey trout and most other higher-priced species are under some management plan. Even shark and dogfish - which until a few years ago no one even wanted - now have controlled seasons in many states. Croaker, spot, butterfish and other species could be targeted soon.
``I think the first thing you'll see in terms of trying to increase fish populations is more quota-based management,'' Travelstead said. ``We're voting on whether to impose one for bluefish this month. We've already seen they can work with the rockfish.''
Commercial fishermen are not alone. Recreational anglers increasingly are having to adhere to size and catch limits. They, too, will be monitored even more closely in the future.
``With flounder, about half of the fish are caught by recreational anglers, half by commercial fishermen,'' Perra said. ``Commercial fishermen catch more at once. But there are many more recreational guys out there. One million recreational fishermen catching five fish each can have quite a tremendous effect on the population.
``Yet commercial fishermen get the total blame,'' Perra said. ``I think most states are beginning to distinguish between recreational and commercial fishermen a little more. And we're trying to get a better handle on the recreational landings.''
Virginia, for example, is home to 3,200 commercial fishermen and more than 700,000 recreational anglers. About 3,500 North Carolina residents make their living commercial fishing. But 12,000 people in the Tar Heel State own commercial fishing licenses.
Such numbers caused Carolina fisheries officials to impose a two-year moratorium on commercial licenses this year. As of July 1, no new watermen may enter the endangered industry.
``We've allowed everybody to be a commercial fisherman who wants to. And that creates a tremendous amount of gear in the water,'' N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Chairman Bob Lucas said. ``Trawl nets and other gear that's used commercially should be kept solely in the hands of the watermen who make their living that way. Recreational fishermen should not be allowed to sell fish.
``The resource won't handle it,'' Lucas said. ``We've got to start somewhere.''
In December 1992, Virginia began issuing licenses to sell fish. The $150 permit is required before commercial fishermen can purchase gear licenses. The fee - and two-year waiting period - discourage many recreational anglers from dragging nets.
Besides limiting the amount of fish watermen can haul and the number of people who can catch or sell certain species commercially, regulators are trying to reduce the amount of unmarketable or unwanted fish that are killed. Larger mesh sizes and by-catch reduction devices that stretch certain areas of the net allow small fish to escape. By-catch reduction devices already are required on Carolina's shrimp boats.
Soon, they could become part of every commercial fisherman's equipment.
``Fish excluder devices have reduced by-catches by 20 to 70 percent in certain style nets,'' said Wayne Wescott, a marine specialist with the University of North Carolina's Sea Grant program, which supports commercial fishermen. ``Eventually, there probably will be some kind of by-catch reduction device on all pull nets. They're even talking about putting them on pound nets to let the small flounder out.
``The more young fish that survive, the more there will be for next year's harvest.'' UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Although the future is murky for Atlantic and worldwide fisheries, experts and industry leaders agree that stocks could come back if properly managed.
The U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that depleted fisheries could yield 20 million tons more annually - if fishermen give fisheries time to recuperate.
Until recently, each state controlled its own fishery. But since most species migrate, the entire Atlantic seaboard shares a single fate. In December 1993, Congress gave the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission authority over all East Coast fish populations. If one state does not comply with the commission's fishery management plan, the government can shut down that area's entire industry for the specific species.
Officials think such broad-based control could save fish - and the seafood industry.
``You'll keep seeing smaller size limits and smaller quotas along the Atlantic coast. Watermen will still be fishing. But they'll get smaller pieces of the pie,'' Perra said. ``Eventually, we'll see looser regulations as species like the striped bass begin to recover. After more than 10 years of strict management, we'll consider really reopening that fishery in January.''
Virginia's Travelstead said: ``Different species recover at different rates, depending on their spawning practices and live cycles. It's going to be a rough time enacting everything that needs to be done. There will be some very difficult decisions for fishermen and government officials to make.
``But I'm reasonably optimistic that we have the tools that we need now to manage our fisheries - and help the ocean's food stocks recover.'' ILLUSTRATION: DREW C. WILSON
Staff color photos
A long-lining crew dips a catch of croakers and trout into the back
of a commercial fishing boat in Pamlico Sound.
A mate on board a commercial fishing trawler in the Atlantic Ocean
culls summer flounder from the boat's catch.
Graphic
STAFF
THE CHANGING CATCH
SOURCE: National Marine Fisheries Service
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff file
As the industry grew more high-tech throughout the 1980s, fewer
pounds of fish started showing up at packing houses like this one in
Wanchese.
by CNB