THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603170202
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 129 lines
A lot of Virginia anglers think there are too many gill nets in the state's waters. That was the most obvious conclusion of a recent survey of recreational fishermen.
Ninety-two percent of those responding said gill-net fishing should either be eliminated or reduced.
The survey was conducted by the Coastal Conservation Association, the state's largest organization of recreational fishermen, which does not make public how many members it has. However, there are chapters scattered from Northern Virginia to Richmond, Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore.
Bob Pride of Virginia Beach, the organization's president, did say that more than a third of the membership responded to the mailed questionnaire.
Of the respondents, 47 percent favored a ban on gill-net fishing, similar to the one recently enacted in Florida. Another 45 percent favored the organization's more moderate current position, calling for reductions in nets, requirements for attending nets and establishing net-free fish-migration corridors and conservation zones.
On another question, 73 percent of those responding favored game-fish no-sale designation for one or more species.
The striped bass was the species most favored for designation, selected by 82 percent of those answering. Next came speckled trout, favored by 69 percent, followed by red drum at 46 percent and gray trout at 29 percent.
More than half (51 percent) agreed with the organization's stand calling for limits on where and when menhaden-seeking purse-seine fishing boats could operate. But another 46 percent said they thought menhaden purse-seining should be banned in Virginia waters. Both groups said their main concern was the removal of a species of vast importance as a forage fish for game species.
Pride said the organization did not plan any immediate action because of the survey.
``First, I was surprised at how well our general membership understands the importance of forage species,'' Pride said. ``We also surveyed them about such forage as squid, sand eels and butterfish.
``But as far as immediate action, we understand that we're dealing with a segment of the population which probably keeps up with developments on the fishing scene better than the average fisherman.
``So, I think our next step will be to survey as many non-member fishermen as we can. We're preparing a mailing now, and I'd like to have a mailing of at least 3,000.''
Pride said that like the membership survey, the next canvass would be aimed strictly at the resource.
``There's a lot of concern at many, many levels about our public resources,'' he said. ``That's why we keyed on that one topic, instead of getting into the economic and social aspects.''
TURKEY TALK: Several matters of interest to turkey hunters are planned before Virginia's spring gobbler season opens April 13, to run through May 18.
First, Jim Clay and Tom Duvall of Winchester again will stage their popular turkey-hunting seminar in Norfolk, sponsored by Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop. It'll be at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a new location - the Howard Johnson Hotel on Monticello Avenue, across from Scope. Also new this year will be a $3.25 admission. For details, contact Bob's at 627-8311.
On March 29, the Tidewater Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will stage its annual fund-raising party at the Holiday Inn Executive Center on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach. Admission will be $40, or $60 per couple, including one membership in the organization. This will begin at 6:30 p.m. For reservations, contact Dan Arris at 554-0477 or Pete Costenbader at 340-2006.
That same day, a weekend-long turkey-hunting seminar for women only will begin at the 4H Camp near Wakefield. This is hosted by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. For details, contact Anne Skalski at 1-804-367-6778.
TOG PROPOSALS: Preliminary proposals for tautog fishing off the East Coast contain good news for Virginia's recreational fishermen.
For openers, there would be no bag limit south of Delaware Bay at least until April 1998. The minimum size in this area would be 13 inches beginning in April 1997, and 14 inches starting in April 1998.
Meanwhile, for states north of Delaware Bay, where the fish is suffering from excessive pressure, the bag limit would be three fish a day with a 14-inch minimum, effective in April 1997.
The limits, proposed by a coalition of states under the umbrella of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, would be for state waters only, extending offshore 3 miles. However, similar plans probably will be proposed for federal waters, which extend from 3 to 200 miles at sea.
The proposals are not expected to be finalized for several months.
NEW SAILING CLASS: The 1996 competitive sailing season on the lower Chesapeake Bay will be marked by the recognition of a new class. It'll be for cruisers/racers that do not use spinnakers or double headsails, according to John McCarthy, spokesman for the Cruising Club of Virginia.
``This new class is designed to appeal to sailors who want to participate in organized sailing but are not at the point of committing the time and money associated with the existing weekend fleets,'' he said.
``We're planning six races for the new class, which will have its own start in each race. Skippers will have to compete in four races in order to qualify for the club's high-point awards.''
For details, contact Linda McCarthy at 460-1372.
LICENSE MONEY: It looks as though just about everyone wants a piece of the $1.3 million collected annually from Virginia's saltwater fishing license.
Twenty spending proposals are being considered by the citizens advisory board that scrutinizes proposals and passes along those it approves to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
Projects range from $535,000 for the acquisition of Krause's Wharf, a Deltaville marina, to $4,000 for a children's fishing clinic in Newport News.
The license advisory board, which met a few days ago, will meet at least once more before its recommendations are passed on to the commission for a decision at its June meeting.
SHORT CASTS: How far will some folks go to gain notoriety? Pretty far, apparently. A boat out of Garden City, S.C., made a 184-mile run, one way, to fish for giant tuna off Hatteras, boating a South Carolina state record 332 1/4-pound bluefin. Certainly that can't be considered a South Carolina catch. April 18-21. It'll be based at the Comfort Inn South in Nags Head. Registration will be $150, including accommodations. For details, contact Malat at 1-919-441-4767. . . . The Tidewater Anglers Club of Norfolk will stage its annual crappie tournament Saturday on the lakes around Suffolk. For details, contact Steve Jones at 499-1318. . . . The 71st Street Anglers of Virginia Beach will hold their annual ball Saturday at the Upper Deck, at 16th Street and Atlantic Avenue. The club has raised more than $20,000 for conservation projects. . . . The Army Corps of Engineers will donate the recreation area at Lake Drummond in the Dismal Swamp to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the welcome center on U.S. 17 in South Mills, N.C. . . . The North Carolina Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association has asked Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. to name a search committee to help select a new chief of law enforcement for the Division of Marine Fisheries. The former chief was fired last month by Bruce Freeman, the agency's executive director. . . . Eric Hollston of Chesapeake has earned a citation from the Virginia Fresh Water Fishing Program for a 17 1/2-pound channel catfish, caught at Lake Smith. by CNB