THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 25, 1995 TAG: 9509250065
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
The state's top fisheries officials are debating whether to let the state's oyster harvesters gather small oysters in some state waterways as a hedge against diseases that have helped decimate North Carolina's oyster population.
The proposal - the subject of sharp debate among fisheries managers - is the first recommendation by the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Oysters - a panel of fishermen, scientists and fisheries managers that has studied ways to restore the state's dwindling oyster stocks - to face public scrutiny.
But it won't be the only controversial idea generated by the report, according to Dirk Frankenberg, the oyster council's chairman and a member of the state Marine Fisheries Commission.
``Restoring the oyster resource will require that a number of people do things differently than what they do now,'' Frankenberg, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor, said last week, as a year-long review of the state's oyster programs came to an end.
The Marine Fisheries Commission has backed a rule change that gives the marine fisheries director the authority to let fishermen harvest oysters when they reach 2 1/2 inches if they are threatened by disease.
Oysters are most susceptible to disease in many state waterways after they reach 2 1/2 inches in size but before they reach the 3-inch minimum size required for harvest in North Carolina.
Proponents of the change say that removing oysters before they die will help curtail the spread of infection and enable fishermen, particularly those who hold private leases, to sell their oysters and make money from their operations.
``The crux of the issue for managing oysters in North Carolina is whether we can find ways to raise oysters that can reach a marketable size before they succumb to disease,'' he said.
But fisheries Director Bruce L. Freeman said the proposal is ``a desperation move'' and said he may not reduce the size limit even if the commission gives him the authority to do so.
North Carolina's oyster harvest has declined to just over two percent of landings in the state in the early 20th century, according to Division of Marine Fisheries data.
This decline has been attributed to a number of causes - outbreaks of oyster diseases, overfishing, substantial declines in coastal water quality and the failure of resource managers to preserve oyster reef habitat.
Allowing the state's oystermen to harvest small oysters is just one of about 50 recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Oysters to restore North Carolina's oyster population.
The council recommends five general steps to restore oyster production in North Carolina:
Encourage private oyster production by revising state laws and procedures that generally inhibit these operations.
Restore and protect oyster reef habitat by changing the way the state seeds oyster beds and plants cultch material and adopt new regulations to protect oyster reefs from destructive fishing practices.
Expand waterways that are suitable for oyster production by protecting and restoring coastal water quality.
Establish and support an industry-based seafood council to promote demand for oysters and other seafood products.
Designate the Marine Fisheries Commission to monitor implementation of these recommendations and report its progress annually to the General Assembly.
And it asks the state to continue these restoration efforts until the state's oyster production reaches about 20 percent of the value of North Carolina seafood.
Frankenberg said parts of the report may prove contentious for some legislators - particularly the proposed expansion of the state's oyster bed leasing program, which has been controversial among northeastern North Carolina fishermen, the creation of 100-foot mandatory buffers along water bodies containing shellfish beds and the elimination of trawling and other bottom-disturbing types of fishing in some waterways to protect oyster beds.
``It is not clear how this report will be received,'' Frankenberg said.
``The question is at what political cost does the state want its oyster resources restored,'' he said. ``For the answer, stay tuned.''
Frankenberg presented the oyster council's report to the state Marine Fisheries Commission last week in Wilmington and will present it to the Joint Legislative Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture on Oct. 10 in Snead's Ferry.
Frankenberg said cost estimates for the report's recommendations will be available when he meets with legislators in three weeks.
About half of the report's recommendations can be enacted by the state Marine Fisheries Commission, the 17-member panel that oversees the state's coastal fishing industry. About 10 recommendations are under the purview of the state Environmental Management Commission, which oversees water quality issues, and the remainder require action by the state legislature.
Robert V. Lucas, Marine Fisheries Commission chairman, said fisheries regulators will likely wait for response to the report from the General Assembly before acting on more of its recommendations.
``The bigger issue for the Marine Fisheries Commission will be what kind of commitment the report receives from the Legislature,'' he said last week. ``We will wait and see what the seafood and aquaculture commission does.''
The oyster advisory council was created about a year ago by the General Assembly following a two-day summit on the status of the state's oyster population, a review of research and management programs under way in other states. by CNB