THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505030442
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
North Carolina's ocean flounder fishery - the state's most valuable finfish catch - will come to a halt as early as Sunday, according to state fisheries Director Bruce L. Freeman.
The state's top fisheries regulator said the season closure is intended to protect the state's rapidly dwindling quota from the larger-than-usual numbers of boats participating in the industry.
Freeman made the decision after meeting Monday night here with some of the state's commercial flounder fishermen.
``We're seeing this quota being taken very quickly,'' Freeman told about two dozen fishermen meeting with him and other division staff members. ``We have a limited amount of fish, and we need to do what makes sense for North Carolina economically.''
``What we're trying to do is use this quota to the maximum benefit of the commercial fishing industry in North Carolina,'' he said.
If ocean flounder fishing is halted now, the state would probably have enough of its quota left to allow ocean flounder fishing in November and December, traditionally valuable months for the fishery in North Carolina, Freeman said.
Commercial fishermen, who were divided over the proposed season closure before the meeting, said afterward that they were pleased with the decision.
``We don't have any choice right now,'' said Wanchese fish processor Joey Daniels. ``We've got to look out for our own fishermen.''
Flounder fishermen at the meeting said closing the season is just the first step needed to protect the state's flounder catch. They said they will press the state Marine Fisheries Commission later this month for additional restrictions on flounder fishermen to protect the state's fall flounder fishery from large numbers of boats closed out of Northern fishing grounds and industries.
The commercial industry is expected to ask the commission, when it meets in Greenville May 19 and 20, to begin to enact emergency rules that would place limits on the amount of flounder that can be landed in North Carolina by commercial flounder boats.
``The next step is to get ready for the Marine Fisheries Commissionmeeting next month, to get our ducks in a row for what we want the commission to do,'' said Jerry Schill, executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing trade group that arrangement the meeting with Freeman.
Daniels, a member of the Marine Fisheries Commission, said he will ask his fellow commissioners to place some form of limits on a commercial fisherman's eligibility to land flounder in North Carolina that could be tied to the annual commercial quota for flounder.
The state's ocean flounder catch, valued at $13.8 million in 1994, is by far the most valuable finfish landed in North Carolina. The next most valuable finfish are menhaden, valued at $3.1 million, and gray trout or weakfish, valued at $1.9 million.
Atlantic Coast states from North Carolina, the southern range of the summer flounder, to Maine are in the fourth year of a 10-year recovery plan for summer flounder, managed by the Mid-Atlantic Council of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The plan, intended to restore flounder stocks, sets annual commercial and sports fishing quotas for Atlantic Coast states.
The 1995 commercial quota is 14,690,407 pounds, with North Carolina's quota accounting for 4,031,905 pounds, or about 27 percent of the total.
As of April 22, about 3.032 million pounds, or about 75 percent of that quota had been landed, leaving less than 1 million pounds available for commercial fishermen, who traditionally have caught more than 900,000 pounds of flounder in the ocean during November and December.
North Carolina had a surplus of its flounder quota, but that situation changed this year as greater numbers of fishermen - closed out of traditional fishing grounds and industries to the North - have come to North Carolina to land their flounder catch, Freeman said.
The two dozen fishermen who met wlith Freeman were divided over the two options - halt flounder fishing now and conserve some of the quota for the fall or continue flounder fishing until the quota is depleted.
``There's a lot of concern about what will happen if we do shut it down,'' said Schill. ``And there's a lot of concern about what will happen if we don't.''
Some fishermen said that closing the flounder season now would force too many large boats into North Carolina's sounds and rivers later this year when shrimping season opens. Excessive trawling in the sounds and rivers could lead to additional protests from sports anglers, conservation groups and some fisheries regulators who want to halt trawling in the state's estuaries, they said.
But most felt the best action would be to halt flounder fishing now and conserve some of the quota for later this year.
``We've got a chance to save it now. Let's save it,'' said commercial fisherman Ed Cross, a member of the state Marine Fisheries Commission.
KEYWORDS: COMMERCIAL FISHING FLOUNDER by CNB