THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300355
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
As catches by the state's commercial fishing industry continue to shrink, shellfishermen are celebrating their success.
In 1994, for the second time in four years, North Carolina's crab catch was larger than the total take of all edible fish. The 55.4 million pounds of blue crab was the largest haul since record-keeping began in 1880.
At the same time, the oyster season, which closes Friday, has been better than expected in the southern part of the state, observers said.
Catches in the state's major fisheries have declined since 1980; the 2 percent increase recorded last year in the overall catch is virtually meaningless, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries said.
``From a statistical standpoint, 2 percent is level,'' Mike Street, the division's chief of analysis and planning, said.
But while the edible-fish catch has been virtually unchanged, the crab catch has been increasing since the mid-1980s. The $29 million haul constituted nearly 30 percent of the value of all seafood caught in North Carolina, including fish, shrimp, clams and oysters.
Official oyster landings have not been calculated, but oyster houses report that fishermen seem to be bringing in larger hauls.
``Their catches appear to be better this time,'' said Muriel Hudson of Grant's Oyster House in Sneads Ferry.
``They are still not catching their five-bushel-a-day limit, but we haven't run out of local oysters for people to buy.''
Grant's stocked only North Carolina oysters this year and had no shortages, owner Clarence Grant said.
Mike Marshall of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries resource enhancement section agreed that oyster catches were better in some areas.
``New River is one of the areas that has shown an increase from last year,'' Marshall said.
Meanwhile, fishing is heading in the opposite direction.
Last year's fish catch was almost 8 million pounds larger than the 40 million pound haul reported in 1991. But nearly all the increase was because of an increased catch of dogfish sharks, which are exported to Europe and rarely eaten in this country.
In 1990, 41,000 pounds of dogfish shark were reported. Last year, fishermen netted a whopping 9.9 million pounds of the sharks and sold them for about 10 cents a pound.
``Overall, the big change was in dogfish. Otherwise most of the edible fish went down a little bit,'' Street said. ``Most fish stocks of economic importance are still stressed or depressed.'' by CNB