THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606020217
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: 121 lines
East Coast recreational fishermen could be allowed to catch an additional 95 metric tons of bluefin tuna this year under a proposal being considered in Washington.
That's almost 210,000 pounds of tuna. This compares with a quota of 323 metric tons (690,000 pounds) as of Jan. 1, 1996.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, which regulates all U.S. tuna fishing, is considering a 95-metric-ton transfer from its ``reserves,'' since so much of the original allotment for anglers was consumed by the tremendous bluefin season off Hatteras, N.C., this winter and early spring.
The Hatteras fishery already has caused East Coast bag limits to be lowered twice this year.
Unless the transfer is approved, anglers from Virginia and other East Coast states will be allowed to keep only one tuna between 27 and 47 inches per day, per boat, when the fish again appear in this area, perhaps by the end of the month.
John Kelley, an agency spokesman, said the decision should be finalized by June 14, at the latest.
``I want to stress that it's just a proposal,'' Kelley said. ``There's no guarantee. You have to remember that the other categories (commercial) also want a slice of the pie. The final decision will be up to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Department of Commerce.''
The bluefin tuna is perhaps the ocean's most prized resource, commercially and recreationally, and has been tightly regulated for years under an international treaty known as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
FOR THE MOMENT: Bruce Freeman's job as director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries appears to be safe, for now.
Freeman, who spent most of his career in a similar role in New Jersey, was brought to North Carolina about a year ago to replace Dr. William Hogarth as head of the state's marine fisheries agency.
Hogarth, who held the position for eight years, was forced out by pressure from North Carolina commercial fishing interests.
Now, some of those same folks want Freeman gone. The North Carolina Fisheries Association, a commercial-fishing group, has written Gov. James B. Hunt seeking Freeman's ouster.
However, the move was opposed in a later letter from the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina, a coalition of recreational fishermen.
For the moment, Freeman's job seems safe. Debbie Crane, a spokesman for Hunt, said there were no plans to get rid of him.
But if you remember, that was the same official word on Hogarth until the day he was dismissed, even though insiders said the decision to fire him had been made weeks earlier.
Anyway, Crane said she thought many problems with the fisheries agency would improve shortly.
``We're going to be naming a deputy director soon,'' she said, ``and a new chief of law enforcement will be announced later this summer. That should relieve a lot of the agency's stress.''
Unfortunately, this is one of those ugly scenarios in which politics can play a more important role in fishery management than prudent use of publicly owned resources.
The bottom line is that there are some folks in North Carolina who don't want any marine law enforcement or any fishery management. Some seem to believe that if we leave Mother Nature alone, she'll take care of her own.
But netters and anglers started messing with Mother Nature the first time they cast nets and hooks into the water.
TOUGH DECISION: Ivan Morris of Virginia Beach may pass up a guaranteed slot in one of the most prestigious tournaments available to grass-roots members of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society: the BASS Eastern Regional Tournament, set for Sept. 15-20 on Raystown Lake, near Huntingdon, Pa.
Morris qualified for the 13-person Virginia team by winning the Regional Classic last October on the Potomac River. But he and brother Rick, also from Virginia Beach, have applications in for the Virginia Invitational BASS tournament on Buggs Island Lake the same week.
If Ivan Morris and his 12 teammates were to win the Eastern Divisional, they probably would split about $20,000, less than $1,700 each. If Morris won the Buggs Island contest, it would be worth $35,000 for him alone.
But that's not all. Even a Top 5 finish at Buggs Island would be almost a guaranteed steppingstone to the 1997 Bassmaster Classic. And winning that event could make Ivan Morris a millionaire. Ah, 'tis the stuff of which dreams are made.
KIDS EVENT: The Virginia Bass Federation will hold its annual kids fishing tournament June 23 at Powhatan Resort on the Chickahominy River near Williamsburg. It will benefit the Children's Miracle Network, which last year donated $800 to the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters from the event.
Competition is open to all kids, who must fish with their fathers. You can get details from Roger Fitchett of Virginia Beach, the Virginia Federation president, at 428-4280.
QUAIL STUDY: North Carolina has expanded its quail research with a four-year study to see what effect predators have on bobwhite nests in four farming areas in the east.
Wildlife biologists in North Carolina, Virginia and other Southeastern states have been concerned with declining quail numbers for several years. Virginia has an extensive ongoing quail research program, including camera surveys of nesting sites.
While initial population declines were blamed on loss of habitat, especially from modern farming practices, biologists are also worried about losses to predators, including foxes and raccoons.
BOAT RACES: Inboard powerboat racing will make its debut at Chincoteague June 22-23 when five classes will compete in an event being billed as ``Thunder on the Island.''
Races will be held on Chincoteague Channel off Memorial Park, starting at 1 p.m. each day. No admission will be charged. Classes will include 1.5-liter stock, 2.5-liter stock, 2.5-liter modified, 5-liter stock and Jersey speed skiff.
The races are being sponsored by the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce and sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association. For details, call 1-804-336-6161.
SHORT CASTS: Shel John of Virginia has earned a citation from the Virginia Fresh Water Fishing Program with a 7 1/2-pound largemouth bass. . . . Chris Ward of Chesapeake boated a 6-pounder on the Yeopim River in North Carolina. . 77-pound yellowfin tuna, caught off Oregon Inlet on the boat Wide Open. . . . Bruce Gobel of Hampton has earned the year's first cobia citation from the Virginia saltwater contest with a 53-pounder, boated off Back Creek in Hampton. . . . The kids fishing outing planned for today at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach has been scrubbed because of construction work at the facility. . . . Various kids programs are planned around the state during National Fishing Week, which begins Monday. . . . Tommy O'Connor, Edward Higginbotham, Jim Gordon, John Harlow and Brad O'Berry, all from Suffolk, have earned Virginia citations by releasing black drum off Cape Charles from the boat Rest Assured II. by CNB