THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507190411
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
Frustrated by licensing red tape that ensnares his fishing and crabbing constituents, Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight is urging North Carolina officials to speed up efforts to simplify the permitting process.
``It is ridiculous for people who just want to get some crabs and shrimp or fish for their family to go through all the confusion to get a license, and to have to pay for a son or daughter to go with them,'' the Manteo Democrat said from his Raleigh office.
``I believe a person should be able to put out a few crab pots or use a small amount of net only for personal use without obtaining separate commercial licenses,'' Basnight added in a statement Tuesday.
``I don't believe the system should be as cumbersome as it is today,'' Basnight said. ``Nor should it affect as many people as it does.''
Upset by a Virginian-Pilot article on the complicated commercial fishing license renewal process Saturday, Basnight called a special meeting of state fisheries managers this week.
The senator has discussed the issue with Division of Marine Fisheries Director Bruce Freeman, Marine Fisheries Commission Director Bob Lucas and General Assembly legal counsel Sherri Evans-Stanton.
``I have asked the director of Marine Fisheries, Bruce Freeman, to immediately begin to address some of the problems associated with the licensing program - pending the outcome of the recommendations of the Moratorium Steering Committee,'' Basnight said. ``I asked them to do anything they could to simplify the process and solve some of these smaller problems as soon as possible.
``I think we should be able to get immediate relief for some of these people who just want to pull a few crab pots for their own personal use,'' said the senator. ``I think you'll see some changes in the system soon.''
Formed by the General Assembly to develop long-term policies and plans for the state's commercial and recreational fisheries, the state's Moratorium Steering Committee has been meeting monthly for more than a year.
Committee members are attempting to overhaul the entire state licensing system for commercial and recreational anglers. They plan to present recommendations to the General Assembly in May. The legislature will consider new laws in its 1997 session.
Comments from the public, Basnight and Freeman said, are welcome throughout the process.
``The licensing system was put into place in a piecemeal way to solve a number of individual problems,'' Freeman said. ``We realize the sheer number of licenses available is cumbersome. But if we remove any one of them before we redo the whole system, it will cause a tremendous impact on the resource that may never be recovered.
``We need a much better, more efficient, user-friendly system for our state fishermen,'' said Freeman. ``We will make those changes.''
Four categories of commercial fishing licenses exist, with a fifth type of permit available for non-licensed passengers who want to work on crab boats:
Vessel licenses are required for any boat that uses commercial fishing gear, including crab pots.
Endorsements to sell are required for any individual who wants to land or sell a catch in North Carolina.
Non-vessel licenses to sell cost $15 and cover any seafood caught from shore or a pier - without a boat.
Shellfish and crab licenses are required for individual fishermen, rather than boats. Shellfish licenses cost $7.50 each. Combined crab and shellfish permits cost $15.
Licensed crabber who want to carry up to two additional passengers on board, have to buy an additional, $22.50 vessel crab permit. Children under age 16 are not required to have those permits. Anyone else aboard the working boat, whether they are helping pull crab pots or not, must be covered either by an individual crab license or a vessel crab permit.
Until the General Assembly has gathered and processed data about the state's fishing industry, no new commercial fishing permits will be sold. A moratorium originally was scheduled to run through May 1996. This month, legislators extended the closure until July 1997 - in part, at the request of commercial fishermen.
``Before you can change the licensing system, you have to gather all the evidence on which to base your decision,'' Lucas said Tuesday from his Selma law office. ``We're trying to preserve the commercial fishing industry. We need to focus on making our licensing structure put commercial gear in the hands of commercial fishermen.''
As chair of the state's Moratorium Steering Committee, Lucas said he and other fisheries officials are looking at other states' commercial fishing licensing systems and talking to watermen throughout North Carolina's coast. The group has $250,000 of taxpayers' money to work with and all of the state's fisheries experts at its disposal. Lucas said his committee's work is ``more than halfway there now.''
Recommendations the committee is considering, he said, include:
Prohibiting recreational fishermen from selling their catch - on all species, from tuna to crab.
Limiting the type of commercial gear available to recreational anglers.
Instituting a single credit-card type license that would carry individual categories of permitted fishing on the back. This license could replace the three or four slips of paper watermen are now required to carry on board their vessels. It could also be renewed by mail every two or three years - instead of annually.
``The most controversial issue we're studying is what to do about part-time commercial fishermen - the guys that just go out there on the weekends or during certain seasons to supplement their income,'' Lucas said.
``The state has sold 22,000 commercial vessel licenses. But only 6,200 licenses to sell have been sold,'' said Lucas. ``That shows there's a huge amount of folks who aren't commercial fishermen who have commercial licenses. And of those 6,200 licenses to sell, a good number of those permit holders have not sold anything.
``We want to create a system that won't require you to have a five-gallon bucket to carry all your licenses. But we have to avoid the temptation of solving each small, specific problem if we want to fix the overall picture of the state licensing system.''
One key to creating a new process, Freeman and Evans-Stanton said, is to encourage compromise between recreational and commercial fishing groups. Additional restrictions are being considered for both groups. A saltwater sports fishing license is still a possibility, Freeman said.
``Not too many years ago, seafood was a cheap, available source of protein. In recent years, however, it's become worth a lot more money,'' Freeman said. ``People find it worth their while to go out and catch fish and seafood instead of buying it. There's been a lot more effort from part-time and recreational fishermen who are now seeing profit from selling their catches.
``There's continuing support for the concept of a sports fishing saltwater license,'' the state's marine fisheries director said. ``This issue isn't going to be an easy one.
``People believe fishing is a right. It's not,'' said Freeman. ``It's a privilege. But most people are resistant to paying for something they've always gotten for free.'' by CNB