
DATE: Sunday, July 13, 1997                 TAG: 9707130083

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS 

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

FISHERIES A NEW GAME FOR DIRECTOR

Fisheries biologist Preston Pate Jr. takes over the state Division of Marine Fisheries with support from recreational fishermen but criticism from the commercial fishing industry.

The industry, which helped push Bruce Freeman out of the director's job in February, criticized Pate's lack of recent experience with fisheries management.

Pate, a 26-year veteran of state wildlife issues, is currently assistant director of permitting and enforcement at the Division of Coastal Management. He was named director of the fisheries agency on Friday.

The recreational fishing lobby and Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said they were pleased by Pate's selection.

``I've heard only good things about (Pate) and his abilities to solve problems creatively,'' Basnight said.

Pate is ``someone who is a proven, able administrator with a background in fisheries and a familiarity with the coast,'' said Richen Brame, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina.

Pate has spent the past 17 years dealing with coastal development issues. Earlier in his career, he spent four years as a marine biologist for the state and worked as a consultant for the fisheries division for five years. He has a bachelor's degree in fisheries biology and a master's in zoology from N.C. State University.

``This is a critical time for North Carolina's marine fisheries, and Preston Pate is the right person to lead the effort to implement fisheries reform,'' Gov. Jim Hunt said in announcing his appointment.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is responsible for managing North Carolina's $1 billion coastal fishing industry.

Its director historically has been a lightning rod for criticism from the commercial and recreational fishing industries, which have battled for decades over fishing regulations.

Jerry Schill, director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, the state's largest commercial group, said Pate will be handicapped during negotiations with federal and regional regulators over fish stocks. North Carolina and other East Coast states negotiate with each other and with the federal government to determine fishing quotas.

``They'll eat him alive,'' Schill said. ``He's going to be behind a two-year learning curve at best. We can't afford that.''

Pate promised to master fisheries issues quickly and rely on the division staff's experience.

``Whereas I am on a learning curve, I think that learning curve is going to be very short,'' Pate said. ``I am planning to give as a top priority an effort to learn as much about those councils as I possibly can.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

THE NEW DIRECTOR

Preston Pate Jr. began his career as a marine biologist and has

spent the past 17 years working with coastal development issues. He

says he will rely on the division's staff while learning the issues

quickly.

THE REACTION

Commercial fishers fear that, without recent experience in the

fishing industry, Pate will be unable to manage the state's $1

billion industry. Conservationists say Pate is a proven

administrator whose familiarity with the coast will serve him well

in his new job.