                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, August 11, 1995                TAG: 9508110239
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Long  :  187 lines

SPORTS FISHING AT 7-YEAR HIGH, STUDY SAYS THE INCREASE REPRESENTS A CHALLENGING OPPORTUNITY

North Carolina recreational fishing was at a seven-year high in 1994, and officials say the numbers of sports anglers heading for the coast each year presents new challenges.

Nearly 1.5 million sports fishermen made more than 5.1 million fishing trips to the coast, caught more than 12.5 million fish weighing more than 15.4 million pounds and released almost 14.1 million fish, according to the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics.

North Carolina fisheries managers say the report highlights the growing pressure on fish stocks as the number of sports fishermen rises.

And, they say, it highlights the growing need for a fishing license for coastal sports anglers.

``It is a public resource, so therefore it is only reasonable that people should have to pay for the taking of that resource,'' said Robert V. Lucas, chairman of the state Marine Fisheries Commission, a Selma, N.C., lawyer and a sports angler. ``And those monies generated by the license could go a long way to help preserve and improve the resource.''

``We keep talking about a depleted resource,'' he said. ``Isn't it only fair that those who take should be the ones to help put something back?''

The 1994 total is about 14 percent over the number of recreational anglers in 1993, a 16 percent increase in the number of fishing trips to the coast and a 39 percent increase in their catch, according to the report.

The amount of finfish landed by sports fishermen in 1994 is only about 10 percent of the more than 130 million pounds landed by commercial fishermen that year. But the rise in recreational fishing represents unique management problems for state fisheries regulators who are under intense pressure from both sports and commercial fishermen to fairly apportion the finfish catch.

``The recreational fishermen themselves need to realize what a tremendous impact they can have even if they catch one fish at a time,'' said Jerry Schill, executive director of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a commercial fishing trade group. ``Regulations should be fair and equitable, and where they have a tremendous impact on a fishery, we've got to regulate that aspect of the fishery.''

Recreational fishing statistics are used by fisheries managers to determine quotas for fish under federal or state plans, to determine the status of fish stocks and to set size and catch limits, according to Douglas G. Mumford of the division's regional office in Washington and author of the report.

``We have to know how many fish we're taking to determine what kind of shape the fisheries are in,'' he said.

The report, titled ``North Carolina Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics,'' was compiled by the Division of Marine Fisheries from about 20,000 telephone and 19,000 on-site interviews with sports anglers, the largest sampling of sports anglers on the Atlantic Coast. The number of fishermen, trips and trip destinations are estimates based on telephone interviews. The catch data are estimates based on on-site angler interviews from fishing piers, beaches, boat ramps, marinas and the like, Mumford said.

The division has compiled recreational fishing statistics in a similar way since 1987, but this is the first year that a report on that information has been widely disseminated, Mumford said.

Besides an increase in fish caught, North Carolina anglers released nearly 14.1 million fish, a 41 percent increase over 1993 and a seven-year high in the number of fish released.

Sports anglers are ``throwing more back than they used to,'' Mumford said. ``That shows the influence of the catch-and-release ethic and it also shows the effects of regulations.''

For Outer Banks businesses and the state's coastal tourism industry, the report confirms what many local officials already know - that sports anglers represent big bucks for the area economy.

``Just listening to these numbers, it tells you it's very important even if we in this region of the coast just get our reasonable, fair share,'' said John Bone, executive director of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce. ``And the most important fact about this is that much of it comes at a time of year that is important to us - the spring and the fall.

``We don't have any figures, but obviously judging from that report it's a rather nice sum.''

One Hatteras Island tackle shop owner said the numbers in the recreational fishing report also generally reflect an increase in his business in 1994 over 1993.

``1994 was a good year for the tourist industry in general, but I don't see where our island has been inundated with recreational fishermen,'' said Bob Eakes, owner of Red Drum Tackle Shop in Buxton. ``Instead, I have seen a gradual increase in business each year over the last few years.''