News Release Archives: December 2018

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Dec. 21, 2018
Phone: 252-726-7021

MEDIA ADVISORY: Southern Flounder Fishery
Management Plan Advisory Committee to meet

MOREHEAD CITY — The Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Jan. 9 at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.

The committee is meeting to continue assisting the Division of Marine Fisheries with development of Amendment 2 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. Agenda items include presentations on the draft Description of the Fisheries section of the plan. The committee will also review projections from the stock assessment and begin discussing ways to achieve sustainable harvest in the fishery management plan.

A full meeting agenda can be found here 

For more information, contact Mike Loeffler at Michael.Loeffler@ncdenr.gov or 252-264-3911 or Anne Markwith at Anne.Markwith@ncdenr.gov or 910-796-7292.

nr-103-2018

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Dec. 21, 2018
Phone: 252-726-7021

Fisheries ask public to report cold stunned trout

MOREHEAD CITY — The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries wants to remind the public to report any cold stunned spotted seatrout they may see in North Carolina coastal waters.

During the winter, spotted seatrout move to deeper, warmer waters in coastal waters and the ocean. Cold stun events occur when there is a sudden drop in water temperature or during prolonged periods of cold weather, making fish so sluggish that humans can harvest them with their hands.

Many fish that are stunned die from the cold or fall prey to birds and other predators. Studies suggest that cold stun events can have a significant impact on spotted seatrout populations.

No cold stun events have been reported so far this winter, but if there are concerning weather conditions in the upcoming weeks as previously described then a cold stun event could occur in coastal creeks and bays.

Anyone seeing a trout cold stun event should report it to the N.C. Marine Patrol at 800-682-2632 or to division spotted seatrout biologist Tracey Bauer at 252-808-8159 or Tracey.Bauer@ncdenr.gov

Under the N.C. Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan, if a significant cold stun event occurs, the Division of Marine Fisheries will close all spotted seatrout harvest until the summer.

A significant cold stun is determined by size and scope of the cold stun event and an evaluation of water temperatures in areas where cold stuns have been reported. Monitors that continuously log water temperature are deployed statewide in the coastal rivers and creeks prone to cold stuns.

Closing harvest allows fish that survive the cold stun event the chance to spawn in the spring before harvest re-opens. Peak spawning occurs in May.

Under N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission rules, the spotted seatrout season automatically closes in inland waters when it closes in adjacent coastal waters.

Click here to learn more about cold stun events and how they impact spotted seatrout fisheries management in North Carolina.

nr-102-2018

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Dec. 12, 2018
Phone: 252-726-7021

MEDIA ADVISORY: Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee to meet 

MOREHEAD CITY — The Marine Fisheries Commission’s Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee will meet Dec. 19 at 6:30 pm at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.

The committee is scheduled to discuss and vote on five proposals for funding from the Commercial Fishing Resource Fund, which receives partial proceeds from commercial fishing license sales.

Spending from the Commercial Fishing Resource Fund must be approved by the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committee, a legislatively-established committee which is made up of six commercial fishing representatives. The Marine Fisheries Commission has delegated its funding decisions to the Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee, which is comprised of members of the commission holding the three commercial fishing seats.

The Funding Committee of commercial fishing representatives approved the funding proposals in October.

The meeting is open to the public. A full agenda can be found here.

For more information, contact William Brantley with the Division of Marine Fisheries at 252-808-8004 or William.Brantley@ncdenr.gov.

nr-101-2018