February 17, 2016 — WILMINGTON, NC – Fisherman packed into the Blockade Runner on Wednesday night to voice their concerns and frustrations about the possibility of closing the recreational Cobia fishing season in June.
Louis Daniel, the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, said the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is responsible for managing Cobia from the Florida Keys up through New York.
The Fishery Management Plan for Cobia sets an allowable recreational catch limit and if that limit is exceeded, then the council has to shorten the season to keep the harvest rates below the catch limit. Daniel said that is a federal law that they have to follow.
“We don’t really have a choice in whether or not there is a closure,” said Daniel. “Their only option would be to go against the federal regulation.”
The federal proposal is to close the season on June 15. The National Marine Fisheries Service, however, is waiting to see if North Carolina drops the Cobia bag limit from two fish to one fish.
If the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries votes to drop the bag limit, Daniel is hopeful the National Marine Fisheries Service will do some more calculations and be able to extend the season a little longer.