THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110647
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
A little fish has been causing a big stir once again in the waters off the Outer Banks.
Three boats fishing for menhaden with the help of spotter planes revived the controversy when they worked the waters near the Nags Head Fishing Pier on Wednesday afternoon.
Pier fishermen complained that the menhaden boats drove off the fish they were seeking.
But officers of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Division, called when the menhaden boats arrived, said the vessels, from Reidsville, Va., were not violating state laws.
However, witnesses contended the menhaden boats were illegally operating within a half-mile of the Atlantic coastline. State regulations restrict menhaden boats from fishing within one-half mile of the beach in various coastal sections of Dare County between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. Other restrictions may vary from municipality to municipality.
Menhaden, a member of the herring family, are used for a variety of products, ranging from high-protein animal feed to women's makeup to fertilizer.
Pier owner Andy McCann called the menhaden boats ``a pain in the butt.'' He said they haven't been around for nearly a year, but when they do come, recreational fishing nearly stops.
``Usually when they start the operation, and you've got fish biting around the pier, everything just sort of quits,'' McCann said. ``I don't know if it's the operation itself, the noise, the boats themselves. But you've got fish biting, and then the operation gets a quarter-mile from you, and the fish just stop biting. Especially trout. They're extremely spookish fish.''
McCann complained to Marine Fisheries Enforcement Officer Billy Biggs, who told him there was little the agency could do.
``Basically, he told me their hands were tied,'' McCann said. ``The boats have everything on their side because marine fisheries has no way of distinguishing how far (the menhaden boats) are (offshore). Without having physical evidence to take to court, you get laughed out of court.''
However, Biggs said that in his 26 years as an enforcement officer, he has seen very few violations by menhaden fishermen.
``We received three complaints Wednesday,'' Biggs said. ``None of the boats were in violation. All I can do is come to the scene, and make visual contact to determine if they are violating the law. None of these boats were in violation.''
Recreational fishing interests in some coastal counties, as well as municipal governments, unsuccessfully sought legislation setting a three-mile restriction on menhaden operations. Damon Tatem, a member of the steering committee of the North Carolina Fishing Industry Study Commission, questioned the effectiveness of the current regulation.
``We have no enforcement,'' said Tatem, owner of a Nags Head tackle and bait shop.
But Biggs said there are a number of checks on menhaden boats to determine that they are complying with regulations, which allow only 3 percent of their catch to be food fish.
``They are checked by Virginia authorities in Reidsville, and down in Southport, N.C.,'' he said. ``The industry is usually very clean when it comes to that.''
Biggs also said that in instances where a menhaden boat appears to be inside the regulatory boundary, the company is notified, and the craft is instructed to move.
``Even if a boat is within the law, if there is a complaint, they generally move farther out.''
McCann said menhaden operations usually include a large mother ship, along with two smaller boats, and the use of the smaller vessels often allows the operators to circumvent the half-mile limit.
The menhaden controversy has raged off and on for years on the North Carolina coast. Last year, an investigation was made into a reported fish spill off Ocracoke Island. However, the marine fisheries agency ruled that the incident was not related to menhaden fishing.
McCann said fishing-pier owners in the area have failed to put up a unified front against the menhaden.
Tatem, however, said action is needed by the General Assembly.
``If there's a change in the law, the General Assembly's going to have to make it.''
Biggs said the ongoing dispute between sport fishermen and commercial netters is ``a social conflict.''
``This is an age-old conflict of interest between the companies and the sport fishermen. I call it a social conflict. All I can do is enforce the law. It's up to somebody else to change it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Above, as fishermen on the pier watch, two menhaden boats head
toward the shore near the Nags Head Fishing Pier on Wednesday.
Right, skiffs on menhaden fishing operation gather nets around a
school of the fish near Nags Head.
by CNB