THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995 TAG: 9509150540
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
To help a state committee overhaul North Carolina's fishing laws, four research projects are being conducted with $200,000 in taxpayers' money.
Reports from those studies are scheduled to be submitted to the state's Fisheries Moratorium Steering Committee by May.
But on Thursday, members of that committee heard for the first time that their recommendations are due March 7 - at least two months before the research reports are available.
Committee members will have to formulate opinions and policies without results from the state-funded research that was commissioned on their behalf.
``Late in mid-stream, you've changed the schedule again,'' Sea Grant Director B.J. Copeland told a representative of the state Attorney General's office, who broke the bad news during a meeting at Penguin Isle Restaurant.
``I'm not really interested in wasting our money that way,'' said Copeland, who hired the researchers. ``We aren't going to have all the results we intended to have by the time this deadline comes off.''
A spokesman for the Attorney General's office, Dan McLawhorn, said the state's Joint Legislative Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture needs the Moratorium Steering Committee's recommendations by late March so that legislators can formulate their own suggestions in time for next May's short session of the General Assembly.
``Like it or not, this is the timetable we have to work with,'' McLawhorn said, adding that subcommittee reports now would be due to the full Moratorium Steering Committee by January. ``You have three months and three meetings to finish your business.''
Formed by the General Assembly to develop long-term policies and plans for North Carolina's commercial and recreational fisheries, the state's Moratorium Steering Committee has been meeting monthly since November 1994.
Committee members are studying issues including what types of fish are caught in state waters and how many are landed annually; who should be required to hold fishing licenses and how much they should cost; what kinds of gear can be used in state waters; what constitutes a commercial fisherman; how to better protect the fish and their habitat; how officials regulate fisheries issues; and what kind of new laws should be passed regarding commercial and recreational fishing.
The steering committee was scheduled to report its findings to the General Assembly in May. But the legislature's seafood and aquaculture commission wants to hear the findings first. The General Assembly is expected to consider new laws during its 1997 session.
Until legislators vote on the fisheries overhaul suggestions, no new commercial fishing permits will be sold in North Carolina. A moratorium originally was scheduled to run through May 1996. But in July, the General Assembly extended that closure until July 1997 - in part because of requests from commercial fishermen.
Twelve of the steering committee's 19 members gathered in Nags Head Thursday to hear subcommittee reports and updates on the research projects. Most of the researchers began their work only last month. Subcommittee members are still developing recommendations.
``The optimistic view is that although we'll have to make our recommendations before the research is finished, the overhaul of the state's fisheries will not start and end in May,'' Copeland said. ``We could actually make some pretty good lemonade out of this lemon we've been handed, because we can keep feeding legislators research results even after this committee has submitted its recommendations.''
Besides hearing that they didn't have as much time as expected to complete their research, members of the Moratorium Steering Committee also found out Thursday that they don't have as much money as they need.
``We have seriously eaten into our meeting budget already,'' McLawhorn told the group. ``We can no longer afford the luxury of holding separate subcommittee meetings. From now on, the subcommittees will have to meet in conjunction with the full committee - or, at least, on the day or morning before.''
In July, the General Assembly appropriated $25,000 for the fisheries Moratorium Steering Committee. At least $10,000 of that fund already has been spent on hotel, travel, meeting and meal reimbursements.
``Some of that money was used to reimburse committee members for May and June meeting expenses,'' committee spokeswoman Susan Moore said. ``We ran out of money last fiscal year. So we had to use some of this year's funds to cover those costs.''
Recommendations subcommittee members presented Thursday included:
Hiring an investigative officer for the state's Division of Marine Fisheries law enforcement branch.
Ticketing crew members as well as captains on shrimp boats caught violating fisheries laws.
Encouraging the use of species-specific commercial fishing gear.
Limiting the amount of commercial gear that recreational fishermen can use.
Reducing the size of the state's Marine Fisheries Commission from 17 to 9 members.
Changing term limits for members of the state's Marine Fisheries Commission from six years to three.
Paying commission members a daily stipend to make up for salaries they might lose by attending state meetings.
Allowing the state Division of Marine Fisheries and Marine Fisheries Commission to have more control over water quality and fisheries habitat issues.
Considering attendance records, qualifications and ethical standards of commission members more closely before they are appointed or reappointed.
Allowing the General Assembly to confirm the governor's appointments to the state's Marine Fisheries Commission.
``This is an election year, and there are a lot of confusing issues we're dealing with,'' North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Director Bruce Freeman said after Thursday's meeting. ``We're on a fast track now if we're going to get this all wrapped up by the end of the year. But after meeting with the legislature the other day, I realized they can devote a lot more time to this fisheries overhaul if we get them our information early,'' Freeman said. ``What they decide will shape the destiny of North Carolina's commercial and recreational fishing for at least the next 20 years.'' ILLUSTRATION: COMMENTS
If you have any comments or recommendations regarding changes for
fishing regulations, call Mike Street at 800-682-2632 or write the
North Carolina Fisheries Moratorium Steering Committee, c/o Susan
Moore, 2117 Legislative Building, Raleigh, NC 27601-2808.
by CNB