Robert Bizzell finds himself in a difficult position these days.
As chairman of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) he is trying to satisfy the federal government and environmentalists who are upset about gill net interactions with sea turtles. On the other hand, he is getting an earful from commercial fishermen worried about the loss of income and jobs as fishing regulations tighten.
In a meeting this week the MFC reversed course and decided to restrict NC gill nets more than they had originally planned to, essential banishing large mesh gill netters to night-time hours and plugging in some other restrictions to try and head off a lawsuit against the state by the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue Center.
Bizzell says that he thinks the MFC has done enough.
“Personally I feel really good about our efforts to comply with the Endangered Species Act and satisfy the sea turtle center,” said Bizzell. “What we have done will amount to an 88 percent reduction in large mesh gill nets, and I think that is very significant.”