THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210651
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
Commercial fishermen who had hoped for easements in the plan to reduce the catch of weakfish along the East Coast left empty-handed from an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting this week.
But the executive director of one commercial fishing trade group said Thursday that he is optimistic that North Carolina fisheries regulators will find a way to ease restrictions on the commercial winter weakfish catch.
North Carolina fisheries regulators sought regional approval for a plan that would open some of the waters south of Cape Hatteras to the commercial fly net industry for several weeks during the winter. An ASMFC management plan, currently in effect and designed to halt declines in the population of weakfish, calls for a ban on fly net fishing in that area, where young weakfish gather during the winter.
``As far as I'm concerned we're going to move forward with that proposal,'' said Jerry Schill, executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing trade group.
Members of the ASMFC said they voted against the proposal because it was not submitted by an ASMFC deadline for changes to the plan. by CNB