DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708230794

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C14  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON

                                            LENGTH:  112 lines

N.C. GROUP WANTS FISH PROTECTED FROM COMMERCIAL ANGLERS

A group of North Carolina anglers has launched a grass-roots campaign to have five popular saltwater species declared off-limits to commercial fishermen.

The group is seeking gamefish-only status for red drum, speckled trout, cobia, striped bass and false albacore.

Tyler Stone, one of the program's coordinators, said the month-old campaign had generated about 50,000 signatures, with a goal of 250,000 supporters by Dec. 1.

``We're just getting started but so far we've been delighted with the response,'' said Stone, who operates a fly-fishing tackle shop in Wilmington.

``We picked these five fish because of their tremendous importance to recreational fishing and the tourism economy. Plus, they're pretty insignificant in terms of the commercial catch.

``Several freshwater species of major importance to recreational fishing are protected by gamefish status, including the largemouth bass. We see no reason why the same thing shouldn't be done to protect important saltwater species.

``After all, many species of saltwater fish are in serious trouble because of excessive harvesting.'

Stone said copies of the completed petition would be sent to all coastal legislators as well as Gov. Jim Hunt and the board of the Division of Marine Fisheries.

Stone, a member of the board of the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina, said the plan had that group's support, although it had never received a formal endorsement.

With more than 4,000 members, the CCA-N.C. is the state's largest organization of recreational fishermen.

``I can tell you that the CCA is completely behind this,'' Stone said.

Members of the grass-roots effort are scattered across the state. They include Joe Albea of Greenville, Cliff Edwards of Louisburg, Bill Harrell of Charlotte, Brad Brown of Fayetteville and Jeff Gouge of Boone.

REIGER, TOO: The idea that striped bass should be declared gamefish has gotten a major boost from one of the nation's foremost conservationists.

George Reiger, who lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore and is conservation editor of Field & Stream magazine and a noted author/activist, makes that pitch in his latest book.

His ``Striped Bass Chronicles'' has just been published by Lyons and Burford in New York.

In it, Reiger traces the ups and downs of striper abundancy from colonial times and chronicles important developments in recreational striper fishing.

As for the book, it's an important addition to the libraries written on stripers. It should be welcomed by anyone who loves striper fishing.

A warning, however: Reiger is an intellect who seems to think that any important work should be punctuated with footnotes.

For the scholarly, these footnotes probably are important. But to the average striper addict, they're stumbling blocks.

The book is marvelous. Without the footnotes, it would be doubly so.

NO TUNA: For most Virginia and North Carolina bluefin tuna fishermen, the good times have come to an end, at least for 1997.

The federal government has closed the door on keeping recreational bluefin tuna south of the extended Delaware-New Jersey boundary.

Only fish of at least 73 inches remain legal in the area and those to a limited number of anglers with federal permits, allowing them to keep but one fish a year.

Since Aug. 8, only bluefins between 27 and 47 inches have been legal for most anglers.

However, you may continue to tag and release bluefins of any size under a program administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which ordered the closure.

TOP WARDEN: Mike Caison of Smith Beach on the Eastern Shore has been named game warden of the year by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Caison, a sergeant, has been with the agency 21 years, almost all on the Shore.

Jeffrey Uerz, head of the department's law enforcement division, said Caison's work went far beyond law enforcement, even though he wrote an impressive 139 summonses in 1996.

``Mike has helped other divisions whenever the need arose,'' Uerz said. ``He has also shown his dedication to the community and is deeply involved in a number of civic programs.''

NO NETS: Speckled trout could be granted additional protection by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission when it meets Tuesday.

The commission will consider expanding the present seasonal net ban around some Eastern Shore bayside creek entrances popular with trout and trout fishermen.

Presently, gill nets are banned between June and Oct. around the entrances of Hungars, Nassawadox and Occohannock Creeks and the Gulf/Smith Beach area. The proposal would expand that to Nandua, Craddock, Cherrystone and Plantation creeks.

The plan does not have the endorsement of the agency's fishery-management staff.

NEW EVENT: The Virginia Beach Marlin Tournament is dead. Long live the Virginia Beach Invitational Marlin Tournament.

For assorted reasons, the Virginia Beach Marlin Tournament, an annual Labor Day weekend affair, will not be held this year.

Instead, the Virginia Beach Billfish Foundation and Ducks Unlimited combined the events into a single contest.

Now there's a new kid on the block, the Virginia Beach Invitational Marlin Tournament, set for Sept. 5-6. It's being sponsored by the Bank of Hampton Roads, Fishermans Wharf Marina and Calcutta's Restaurant and Bar.

Registration will be Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Calcutta's, 530 Winston Salem Ave., Virginia Beach.

You can get details from Paula Owen at Fishermans Wharf, 428-2111.

SHORT CASTS: A special hunt for feral hogs and whitetail deer will be held at Barbour's Hill/False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach Oct. 4-11. Details, park ranger, 426-7128. . . . Two special hunts for tiny siki deer will be held at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore. The first, for archers only, will open Oct. 13, the second, for firearms, will start Dec. 1. Details: Refuge manager, 1-757-336-1066. . . . Virginia squirrel hunters should have a banner season, according to Mike Fies, biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. ``The season looks particularly promising,'' Fies said. . . . Commercial fishermen annually discard 60 billion pounds of fish and other living resources as unwanted bycatch, according to the International Game Fish Association of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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