THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505200325
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. told a group of sports fishermen that fisheries regulators should be more sensitive to their concerns for North Carolina's coastal fish stocks but he repeatedly rebuked suggestions that commercial fishermen be barred from seeking their fair share of the state's fish stocks.
Hunt spoke to some 140 sports anglers and their families, commercial fishermen and state fisheries regulators at the Ramada Inn in Greenville.
As he answered their questions, Hunt stood next to a red, white and blue banner showing a family fishing near the Cape Hatteras lighthouse that drawn for him by one group of students from a Greenville elementary school and bore slogans such as ``Fishing is For Everyone'' and ``Girls Like to Fish Too.''
``I am committed to restoring and preserving and protecting our marine fisheries,'' Hunt said. ``It is a great economic resource and becoming more so all the time.''
Sport fishing in North Carolina has attracted more than 1.2 million anglers to the coast each year during the past three years.
These anglers made, on average, 4.4 million fishing trips including charter boat excursions, fishing trips on private boats and individual fishing trips to the Outer Banks beaches, according to statistics from the Department of Environment Health and Natural Resources.
Hunt said that although the state Marine Fisheries Commission and other fisheries managers should consider the concerns ofsports anglers and the sports fishing industry in enacting their regulations, they should also consider the concerns of the commercial fishing industry.
``It is not easy to work these things out but we are smart enough to do it and we must be courageous enough to do it,'' he said.
But when presented by one child with a small drawing with the slogan ``I worry that if commercial fishermen have their way, there may be no fish some day,'' Hunt quickly retorted that there is room in North Carolina's coastal waters for both commercial and sports anglers.
Members of the state's sports fishing community - boat manufacturers, marina and charter boat owners and individual anglers - asked for the meeting to seek Hunt's support for efforts to protect the state's fish populations.
Hunt said his visit with the fishermen fulfills a year-old pledge by Hunt to meet with sports fishermen who began pressing for time with Hunt after the governor traveled to Elizabeth City last year to meet with Albemarle-area commercial fishermen alarmed over the number of out-of-state fishermen plying area waters for blue crabs.
At a public question-and-answer session with Hunt, about 10 anglers sought Hunt's support for:
Improved enforcement of fisheries regulations;
Budget increases for the fisheries division;
The moratorium on commercial fishing licenses and the findings of its related study committee;
A sports fishing license for coastal anglers;
Support for continued state participation in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a compact of Atlantic Coast states that manages migratory fish.
In answering their questions, Hunt said he supports the moratorium study committee, increased funding for the fisheries division and improved enforcement. He gave conditional support for the coastal fishing license and for continued participation in the ASMFC.
After the public meeting, Hunt met privately with Marine Fisheries Commission Chairman Robert V. Lucas and about a dozen other fisheries officials and sports anglers.
``It's important as governor during his tenure that he meet with both commercial and recreational fishermen. He's governor of all the people,'' Lucas said after the meeting with Hunt.
``His message today was `I hear your concerns and I recognize that recreational fishing is an important family event and an important industry that provides jobs.' ''
Several of those hearing Hunt's public remarks said after the meeting that they were pleased with the governor's answers.
``Most everything he said I agree with 100 percent,'' said Reid Odom, a sports fisherman from Simpson. ``It's long overdue that the voice of the recreational fisherman is heard and that someone takes note of our concern for the fisheries resource.''
Odom and his 5-year-old daughter, Katherine, presented the ``Fishing is For Everyone'' banner to Hunt on behalf of the elementary school students who drew it.
Hunt said he hopes Friday's meeting with the fishermen will prompt more sports anglers to become active in the continuing debate over the future of the state's coastal fishing stocks.
``We're on the verge of making some real progress here,'' Hunt said. ``Stick with it. Keep on pushing us.''
KEYWORDS: FISHING INDUSTRY by CNB