                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996                  TAG: 9604050511
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

NORTH CAROLINA BRIEFS

WARNING ON HERRING When watermen working on the Chowan River have caught a total of 250,000 pounds of herring, the season on those fish will close for the year, said Bruce Freeman, director of the state's Division of Marine Fisheries, on Thursday.

Some fishermen hope to extend the herring season past the projected April 15 closure date so they can take advantage of runs later in the season. If an average of 100 pound nets are set along the Chowan River, Freeman said, watermen will be allowed to fish those nets for five weeks. As soon as 5,000 pounds of herring are harvested from the Chowan in a single day, that five-week period will begin.

``If the variable, cool water temperatures this spring, has delayed the herring migration, resulting in a total harvest substantially lower than the 250,000-pound level and unexpended pound-net-weeks remain on April 15, then the Division is prepared to temporarily extend the season for a specified time,'' Freeman wrote in a letter mailed to Albemarle Sound watermen on Thursday.

Many fishermen suggested that if they fished fewer nets, then state fisheries officials should extend the herring season. Freeman commended watermen for their efforts to work out a compromise. ``The success in this effort,'' he wrote, ``may serve as a test of the effectiveness of such joint government-citizen management ventures in the future.''

For details, call the state Division of Marine Fisheries: (919) 726-7021 or (800) 682-2632. NAGS HEAD - COQUINA KEY PROTECTION Swimmers at Coquina Beach will be protected by lifeguards this summer.

At Wednesday's Board of Commissioners meeting, Nags Head officials voted to aid the National Park Service by providing water safety services for Coquina Beach, on Pea Island.

The National Park Service also plans to provide lifeguards at Ocracoke Island, Cape Point Ramp 43 in Buxton and at Sandy Bay Beach in Frisco this summer. In 1995, Ocracoke Island was the only National Park Service beach with lifeguards. Guards will be on duty from Memorial Day or June 15 through Labor Day, depending on the location, Park Service spokesman Bob Woody said.

In other business Wednesday, the Nags Head Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to eliminate the community dumpster at Ocean Colony South and replace it with individual garbage disposal containers that will be handled by an automated trash truck. During a three-hour public comment period, some residents complained that they could not lift the lid of the dumpster. by CNB