THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9410020158
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
OK, all you tackle-shop talkers who have been complaining about the shortage of yellowfin tuna off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, here's your opportunity to do more than complain.
The yellowfin is one of three topics that will be aired in a series of ``scoping'' meetings the National Marine Fisheries Service will be conducting this week along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Locally, one meeting will be Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo and another Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Lake Wright Hotel on Northampton Boulevard in Norfolk.
Other topics will include sharks and bluefin tuna, according to Richard B. Stone, the Virginia Beach native who heads up the federal government's management programs for the three species.
Scientific studies indicate that yellowfin stocks are at least ``fully exploited'' and may be ``overexploited,'' Stone said.
The plight of the beleaguered bluefin tuna, as well as all coastal species of sharks, is well documented, with the overall population of both at alarmingly low points.
However, management plans for bluefins and sharks have been in effect for some time, and populations may have leveled off, although at low levels.
Not so for the yellowfin. The only federal restriction on catching this popular species is a seven-pound minimum, although North Carolina has adopted a 22-inch minimum. However, neither limit is widely enforced.
There is strong evidence that the average size of yellowfins landed in Virginia and North Carolina has been falling for years, an indication of trouble.
Stone said it was important that anyone interested in the yellowfin's plight attend one of these scoping meetings.
``This is a first step toward a comprehensive management plan,'' he said. ``If the fishermen in the area want to have some input, if they want to have a say in adopting a management plan, it's vital that they come out and make themselves heard.''
Stone said he hoped a management plan for yellowfins would be in effect ``by the fishing season next spring.''
The next step, he said, would be setting up the proposed rules, followed by taking the proposals to public hearings, probably this winter, with Norfolk and Manteo likely sites.
``We want to hear what the public wants and how much interest there is in the yellowfin,'' he said. ``Personally, I know that it's extremely important to recreational and charter fishermen along the coasts of both states.''
Stone said comments would be welcomed on such topics as bag limits, minimum sizes, commercial quotas and limiting the number of commercial fishermen targeting yellowfin.
``We want to hear how the fishermen would like to see the total catch split up,'' he said.
The first hour of each meeting will be devoted to sharks, according to Stone, with yellowfins discussed between 6 and 7 p.m. and bluefins between 7 and 10 p.m.
``But that's not a rule. We'll start talking about yellowfins at 7,'' he said, ``and if the interest is there, we'll keep talking about yellowfins all night. We want to hear from the fishermen.''
Those unable to attend the meetings may write: Richard B. Stone, National Marine Fisheries Service (F/CM4), 1315 E. West Street, Silver Spring, Md. 20910. by CNB