THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509230296
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILMINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The Marine Fisheries Commission turned back a proposal Friday that would have exempted license requirements for boaters using only a small number of crab pots.
The commission voted 12-4 against enacting a temporary rule allowing owners of boats not licensed for commercial use to use two crab pots to catch crabs for their own use.
The vote came after the panel debated the issue for an hour and after commercial interests on the panel voted to reconsider the measure that had been voted down earlier 9-7.
Commissioner Jodie Gay, a commercial fisherman from Hampstead, said the proposal would increase pressure on the blue crab stocks and would undermine the moratorium on commercial fishing licenses.
``If someone else chooses to undermine the moratorium, so be it,'' he said. ``I don't intend to be a party to it.''
Proponents said the measure was a compromise designed to avoid more sweeping action by the General Assembly.
In July, the legislature gave the commission the authority to adopt the rule after several Dare County residents complained to Senate Leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, that they were unfairly penalized by existing license requirements.
A license is not needed if a boat or commercial gear is not used.
Some fisheries officials privately predicted a showdown with statelawmakers next year because of the commission's actions.
Basnight said he would study the commission's reason for rejecting the proposal and talk with constituents before deciding whether to pursue action on the issue.
The chairman of the commission, Robert Lucas, said he hoped a compromise could be worked out that would not undermine the moratorium.
``I think it's something we can address together and can take to the Moratorium Steering Committee to be part of the committee's recommendations,'' Lucas said.
Other controversial issues were taken up by the 17-member commission Friday.
The commission unanimously adopted a rule effective Nov. 1 that restricts the number of boats that can land at state ports flounder caught in the Atlantic. The rule requires vessels to have landed at least 1,000 pounds of flounder from the Atlantic at least two out of the last three fiscal years to be eligible to land the fish in the state.
The director of the Divison of Marine Fisheries, Bruce Freeman, said the action could eliminate up to 48 boats that landed flounder in state ports last year, and could be the subject of legal challenges.
The commission also approved unamimously a rule allowing the fisheries director to close the flounder season to commercial fishermen when 70 percent of the state's allotted commercial quota has been taken.
The commission voted to seek public comment on a proposal to restrict menhaden fishing in the waters off Southern Shores. The town had asked the commission to add Southern Shores to the Dare County communities which already restrict menhaden fishing.
The vote came when commissioner Joey Daniels, a commercial fisherman from Wanchese, asked the panel to reconsider an earlier vote to deny the Southern Shore request.
The commission agreed to hold public hearings in November on about 20 proposed rule changes. The dates are expected to be announced early next week. by CNB