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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 4
December 2006
NC winter bluefin fishery still an option
MOREHEAD CITY, NC – Although the 2006 bluefin tuna fishery has been pretty much a bust in New England, some fishermen are gearing up for the start of the winter fishery in North Carolina.
The winter fishery, which for the last few years has centered around Morehead City, typically starts on Dec. 1 and runs until Jan. 31.
This year, the fishery is slated to get 10.5% of the overall bluefin quota for the two-month season.
According to Charley Pereira of North Carolina, a board member of the Winter Bluefin Association (WBA), reports were circulating that recreational fishermen had caught and released a handful of fish in the 200-pound range in the vicinity of the Oregon Inlet.
“In early November, we heard of one 400-pound bluefin released off Morehead City,” said Pereira.
Quota periods
According to Brad McHale of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Highly Migratory Species (HMS) office in Gloucester, the general category has the largest quota in the fishery at 1,163.3 metric tons for the 2006 fishing year.
Earlier this year, as part of the final rule implementing the NMFS Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan, the general category quota was divided over these five distinct time periods:
June 1 to Aug. 31 – 50%;
September – 26.5%;
October through November, which is considered a transitional period with north to south migration taking place – 13%;
December – 5.2%; and
January – 5.3%.
McHale said the changes were made because there was a need to balance the traditional New England fishery with the emerging fishery in North Carolina. Additionally, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) filed a petition to initiate rule-making for a regulatory amendment to allocate quota from the general category to a new subquota for the winter bluefin fishery.
A guaranteed fishing opportunity for December and January in North Carolina allows individuals to make business decisions, McHale said.
Days off
The WBA has been urging NMFS to lift other restrictions on the fishery but hadn’t succeeded as of early November.
“Due to the winter weather, we vigorously opposed restricted fishing days (RFD),” Pereira said.
But current regulations specify that Saturdays and Sundays will be RFDs and boats are only allowed to land one fish per trip per day.
McHale said that RFDs and trip limits for the December-January fishery would be considered as the fishery progresses down the coast.
“No decisions have been made, but changes are under consideration,” he said. “We have constant access to landings and numbers of participants.”
While the fishery has been slow, it can accelerate quickly and NMFS is using the precautionary approach toward managing the fishery, added McHale.
If changes are made, NMFS will post a notice in the Federal Register, he said. Fishermen also can access changes and updates on the NMFS Permit Shop News web site.
The WBA sent a letter to NMFS requesting that the fishery be extended through February or March to allow fishing and tagging in the waters off North and South Carolina and Georgia as an experiment.
“We had reports of bluefin showing up off of Charleston, SC and even Georgia last year,” said Pereira.
But NMFS turned down the request, explaining that it was not in compliance with established procedures and timetables, he said.
Some heading down
In recent years, some New England fishermen have made the trip down to North Carolina to participate in the winter bluefin fishery. Last year was slow but, according to Pereira, fishing tended to improve after fronts moved through.
Dave Mason of Tightlines Tackle Co. in Walpole, ME was ready to make the trip.
“I will be going down to North Carolina again this winter,” he said.
Mason noted that even though overall enthusiasm was pretty low because fishing had been so poor, he’d heard that a few fishermen from New Jersey and maybe some from Massachusetts would be going down.
Morehead City is a big fishing area that’s set up with all the facilities anyone would need, Mason added.
According to Pereira, the main places to tie up are Hatteras, Morehead City, and Southport, each of which has numerous marinas. There are some good web sites out of Hatteras and Ocean Isle that post daily fishing reports, he said.
Safety
The Coast Guard planned to hold a public meeting in conjunction with NMFS and the North Carolina Marine Patrol on Nov. 28 in Morehead City to discuss the upcoming bluefin fishery.
Representatives from each agency, plus a Coast Guard commercial fishing vessel safety examiner, were expected to be available to provide information on fishery rules, permits, and gear requirements.
“The bluefin tuna fishery is extremely popular and lucrative for commercial and recreational anglers. Since the fishery draws both categories of fishermen from out of state, many are not fully educated on state landing requirements and/or federal equipment regulations,” the Coast Guard said.
“Rough weather and heavy seas are typically encountered during the winter months that bluefin tuna migrate off North Carolina,” the agency continued. “Safety equipment and a practical understanding of what is required to land a giant tuna is vital.”
The meeting was held at Carteret Community College’s Jocelyn Hall auditorium starting at 7 pm. Various displays and information booths were also planned.
Permits, more info
In addition to the NMFS bluefin tuna permit that is good throughout the range of the fishery, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) requires out-of-state commercial boats to get a “land or sell” license. The cost is $200 or “an amount equal to the nonresident fee charged by the nonresidents’ state, whichever is greater.”
Visiting fishermen will need to present their home-state commercial license to get the North Carolina commercial license. NCDMF has offices in Wanchese and Morehead City.
For state license information, call the NCDMF in Morehead City at (800) 682-2632 or (252) 726-7021 or visit the NCDMF web site at <www.ncfisheries.net>. For up-to-date information on NMFS bluefin regulations or to sign up for e-mail notifications go to <http://hmspermits.noaa.gov/news.asp>.
Rosanne Mizzoni
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