THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601260554
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROANOKE ISLAND LENGTH: Long : 133 lines
There are more weakfish in North Carolina's waters than there have been since the early 1980s, commercial fishermen contend.
Some regulations are necessary to protect the stock, the watermen said during a public hearing Wednesday night at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. But the weakfish have returned in unprecedented sizes and numbers, they said.
And proposed changes to an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Weakfish Management Plan contain unreasonable goals, incorrect ranges for the fish and slanted stock assessments based on old data, commercial watermen told a biologist who helped prepare the plan.
``The premise that the proposed changes are necessary is being overstated,'' said Jeff Oden, a Hatteras Island commercial fisherman who serves as an adviser to the ASMFC. ``We're catching weakfish of sizes we haven't seen since 1980. I used 2,000 yards of gillnet in 1980 . . . and caught the same amount of fish this month with only 800 yards of net.
``I'm not advocating that we continue fishing at the present rates. Some management is necessary,'' Oden said. ``But we on the water are seeing improvements in the weakfish levels daily - up and down the coast it's being seen. Unfortunately, the ASMFC is always the last to know.''
About 50 commercial and recreational fishermen filled the aquarium's auditorium. During the sometimes heated two-hour hearing, watermen said that if some of the proposed changes become rules, the Outer Banks' inshore, small boat ocean fishery will collapse. Most fishermen supported state rather than regional management plans.
Weakfish, also known as gray trout, are the second most valuable finfish netted in North Carolina. More than 70 percent of the nation's weakfish are caught off Carolina's coasts annually. The ASMFC has been regulating weakfish landings since 1985.
On April 1, the ASMFC adopted changes to its original weakfish rules known as Amendment 2. The proposals discussed Wednesday night are called Amendment 3. Possible changes include:
Implementing a uniform 12-inch minimum weakfish size along the coast for recreational and commercial fishermen.
Closing the fishery completely or during specific seasons.
Closing certain spawning or feeding areas completely or during specific seasons.
Requiring minimum mesh sizes for commercial gill and trawl nets.
Allowing states to implement per trip catch limits on commercial weakfish hauls.
Allowing states to limit or reduce the number of permits for commercial weakfish vessels or watermen.
Considering any fisherman who catches more than 50 pounds of weakfish a day part of a directed fishery - therefore, limiting bycatch allowances to 50 pounds a day.
The ASMFC is scheduled to vote on Amendment 3 in March.
In late November, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown approved a rule banning weakfish harvests in the Atlantic between three and 200 miles offshore. That rule went into effect Dec. 21.
But on Dec. 20, in response to a lawsuit filed by North Carolina and Virginia, commercial fishing lobbying groups and several of those states' seafood processors, a federal judge ruled that the ban could not be implemented in North Carolina until the suit was settled. A trial is scheduled for Feb. 5 in Norfolk. Earlier this month, the North Carolina Attorney General's office signed on - in part - to the suit against the federal commerce secretary.
Proposed changes of Amendment 3 may be affected by the trial's outcome.
``Weakfish are on the verge of collapse. Commercial landings have decreased by more than 83 percent since 1980. Recreational landings are down by more than 90 percent,'' ASMFC biologist Frank Lockhart told the crowd at the aquarium.
``It's a joke,'' the watermen scoffed. ``It's a lie.''
Later in the meeting, Lockhart said the most recent data used to justify his remarks was gathered in 1994. ``Most of the technical committee agrees that the bottom's been reached for these fish and we're now turning the declines around,'' the biologist said. ``It is a recovery. It's starting. But it's not what it should be.''
Watermen shouting from the back of the room asked what levels the weakfish should return to.
``We want to bring them back to the numbers of the '60s and '70s,'' Lockhart said.
``Can you bring back our environment to the levels of the 60s?'' challenged a commercial fisherman.
``I don't think so,'' replied the biologist. ``But when weakfish recover, the restrictions will be relaxed - just like they were for striped bass.''
The entire audience seemed to groan at that analogy - angry that although the striped bass have come back in plentiful numbers, fishermen are still severely restricted on catching that species.
Further, data that shows severe reductions in weakfish populations is based almost entirely on commercial landings. The numbers, however, fail to take into account restrictions on commercial harvests of weakfish - including complete closures of some areas. Fewer weakfish are being landed, in part, because watermen aren't allowed to fish as freely for them as they were during the early 1980s.
One proposal commercial and recreational fishermen agreed on was that the ASMFC should implement separate limitations for northern and southern states' weakfish landings - separating the Atlantic coast between Maryland and Virginia.
Watermen also liked the idea of having a uniform minimum size limit. But they disagreed between whether it should be 10 or 12 inches. Hatteras Island commercial fisherman Bill Foster reminded the audience that recreational anglers had requested the current 14-inch size so that they could keep more weakfish per day. Commercial watermen asked for their smaller current 10-inch limit so they could reduce wasted fish that die in the net anyway.
``They've not even attempted to assess the effects of their current regulations,'' Foster said of the ASMFC. ``But their weakfish management board says they've failed already. So now they're going onto the next amendment.''
Frisco waterman David Blackmon urged regulators to remember that not everyone has access to recreational fishing equipment - much less the areas where weakfish swim. ``People forget that the folks who can't buy a rod and reel and catch these fish themselves deserve to have a chance at eating weakfish, too,'' Blackmon said. ``We're the Archie Bunkers of the rest of the country, the true representatives of the population. And we provide those fish so everyone inland has access to them.''
Longtime Hatteras Island native Leon Scarborough had a different outtake on the debate. Responding to recreational anglers' concerns that they were no longer catching any trophy-sized weakfish from shore, Scarborough - a commercial fisherman - said:
``Maybe the trout are just like the people. They've just moved away from all the congestion on the beaches, all the lights and noise and cars. Maybe, they've all just gone further off the coast.'' MEMO: WEAKFISH PLAN
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering
several changes to their Weakfish Management Plan. An additional public
hearing on the proposed rule changes will be held Feb. 6 in Norfolk. For
further details on the time and location, call Frank Lockhart, ASMFC
Weakfish Coordinator, (202) 289-6400.
Comments on the proposed rule changes must be received by Feb. 16.
They should be addressed to Lockhart at 1444 Eye St., N.W., 6th Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20005. The FAX number is (202) 289-6051. by CNB