THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 12, 1995 TAG: 9507120381
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY AND LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
If the federal government shuts down the Atlantic weakfish industry, two North Carolina watermen's groups will challenge the closure in court, representatives of the state's commercial fishery said this week.
Officials with the North Carolina Fisheries Association and the Southeastern Watermen's Association said the proposed weakfish ban - and the alternative proposed by North Carolina fisheries regulators - are unfair to local fishermen and are not likely to stand up to a legal challenge.
At least three representatives of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Council agreed, at a Tuesday night hearing in Manteo.
``There's been no attempt to quantify the effects of this proposed closure on either the fishermen or on the federal government,'' Hatteras Island waterman and state fisheries council member Bill Foster told a group gathered at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.
``The next time we meet, the National Marine Fisheries Service will not be the judge and jury.''
State Marine Fisheries Council members Joey Daniels and Lenny Perry agreed. North Carolina watermen already are complying with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Service weakfish rules, they said. The federal government should wait to see how that plan is working before imposing a complete ban.
Weakfish, also known as gray trout, were once one of the most valuable commercial species for North Carolina watermen and an extremely popular draw for recreational anglers. From 1984-1993, North Carolina commercial watermen caught 65 percent of the Atlantic seaboard's weakfish by weight. From 1986 to 1993, biologists say, weakfish populations declined by 67 percent along the East Coast.
In 1991, fisheries officials began regulating weakfish catches in an attempt to help the stocks replenish. There are no federal restrictions on catching weakfish in offshore waters. States regulate minimum catch sizes, which vary from 9 inches to 16 inches.
The latest federal proposal, offered by the National Marine Fisheries Service, would prohibit commercial and recreational fishing for weakfish in the Atlantic Coast Exclusive Economic Zone.
An internationally recognized conservation zone that extends from 3 miles to 200 miles off the Atlantic seaboard, the EEZ regulates states from Maine to Florida. Since North Carolina watermen catch more than half the Atlantic weakfish, such a ban would be particularly detrimental to local families and economies.
``Our fishermen are poised to take this through the federal courts to the secretary of commerce,'' said Melvin Shepard, president of the southeastern watermen's group headquartered in Sneads Ferry.
``The fishing community has not been involved in the discussions and we will not tolerate it.''
Jerry Schill, executive director of the New Bern-based fisheries association, said the proposed closure discriminates against North Carolina and would unfairly hurt the coast's small, fishery-dependent communities.
``Commercial fishermen have cooperated to keep our state in compliance with all applicable regulations with weakfish conservation. It's time that the state and federal bureaucrats realize it and show some reciprocity,'' Schill said. ``It's all about building bridges.''
The National Marine Fisheries Service proposal and the state Marine Fisheries Commission's alternative plan, Schill said, ``would not just dismantle the bridge - but dynamite the living hell out of it.''
Schill and Shepard were two of more than 100 fishermen and fisheries advocates who attended public hearings Monday and Tuesday nights in Morehead City and Manteo. Scheduled by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the hearings were intended to solicit comments on the federal fisheries service proposal. Written comments on the plan will be accepted through Aug. 2.
No effective date was given for the closure. But federal regulators say they hope to make a decision on their course of action by the end of September.
Through spokesmen at Tuesday's hearing, U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones, Jr., R-N.C., and N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Manteo, both said they opposed the federal plan to close the weakfish industry.
``This could possibly be one of the greatest mistakes the federal government could make,'' Basnight said through aide Rolf Blizzard. ``Closing the EEZ will not accomplish the goals of the National Marine Fisheries Service. It will merely push the watermen closer to shore, into state waters.''
Last week, the state Marine Fisheries Commission voted to oppose a prohibition on weakfish in offshore waters. Instead, the state group offered new restrictions on the state's fishermen which it hopes will be more palatable to the federal government.
The commission supported a 12-inch minimum size for weakfish caught in federal waters along the Atlantic Coast and new restrictions on flynet and gill net fishermen. It also proposed to enact the same restrictions for North Carolina waters. State waters extend from the coast to three miles offshore.
Proponents of the state measure said it will be costly for some commercial fishermen - but say it is preferable to closing offshore waters to weakfish.
Opponents, including most commercial fishermen, said the compromise would be as destructive to their industry as a moratorium. They criticized the commission for not standing up to the federal government. By further restricting fishing on weakfish, they said, bureaucrats would be forcing watermen to target other species instead.
Some speakers at the Morehead City public hearing said weakfish have virtually disappeared from the Pamlico Sound and other inside waters. They blamed the state's flynet industry, which operates out of Carteret County and Wanchese, on the Outer Banks.
``At this point we have to start somewhere,'' said sports angler Gil Robbins of Washington, a spokesman for a Pungo River sports fishing group. ``If closing the EEZ is that starting point, maybe we will see a return of the weakfish fishery in our neck of the woods.''
Representatives of the flynet industry, however, said they were being unfairly targeted by the state, federal government and other speakers at the public hearings.
``You need to get out in the real world to see what in the hell is going on before you start putting people out of business,'' said Billy Smith, a Carteret County commercial flynet fishermen.
Watermen at Manteo's meeting criticized federal fish statistics, saying numbers used to justify a closure of the weakfish industry were based on assumptions rather than facts. Outer Banks fishermen have seen increasing numbers of weakfish in nearby waters this year - and bigger fish as well, they said. But the most recent data in federal reports is from 1993, which does not reflect the species comeback, commercial fishermen said.
Others berated regulators for not taking effort of commercial fishing into account when they evaluated landings. With increasing state and federal restrictions on gear, size limits and seasons - and more watermen turning to dogfish instead of weakfish - the total catches in the weakfish industry were bound to decline, commercial fishermen said. Yet the data only shows landings are decreasing, not that regulations are partly responsible for that decline.
``We should not allow the National Marine Fisheries Service - using obsolete data - to jump on the band wagon so late in the game then claim credit for saving the weakfish,'' Hatteras Fisheries Auxiliary President Susan West said Tuesday night.
``At least 50 percent of the weakfish we land are caught in the EEZ,'' Hatteras waterman Rick Scarborough said. ``I live in a 1972 mobile home already. I can't afford to lose half my income. North Carolina fishermen will be dealt a devastating blow if the EEZ is closed for weakfish.''
Despite the public hearings, the crucial test for North Carolina's coastal fishing industry will come later this month when state fisheries managers present the proposal to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Weakfish Management Board, fisheries officials said.
The ASMFC is a compact of 15 Atlantic Coast states that oversees management of fish, such as weakfish, that migrate in inshore waters along the coast.
The federal group's Weakfish Management Board is scheduled to meet July 27 in Philadelphia. by CNB