November 28, 2016 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C.– A conservation organization’s request that the state adopt stricter rules for shrimping and recreational spot and croaker isn’t sitting well with a local seafood industry advocacy group.
Jerry Schill, president of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the state fishing industry, says the association thinks the petition for rulemaking from the N.C. Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the state’s natural resources, will lead to gear bans that could put shrimping in North Carolina in jeopardy.
However, David Knight, NCWF policy consultant, said the petition is meant to protect fish and their habitat and actually assist fishing communities by doing so.
The Southern Environmental Law Center presented a petition for rulemaking, on behalf of the NCWF, to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Nov. 17 in Kitty Hawk at the commission’s regular meeting.
The petition requests several changes to shrimping regulations, special secondary nursery area (SSNA) designation for all coastal fishing waters not already designated nursery areas and additional regulations for recreational spot and croaker fishing. The petition is under review for completeness by the MFC chairman, Sammy Corbett, and the commission’s legal counsel, Phillip Reynolds of the N.C. Department of Justice, after which it will go out for public comment.
Patricia Smith, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries public information officer, said Mr. Corbett and Mr. Reynolds are still reviewing the petition as of Tuesday. According to a press release from the DMF, the state agency which enforces the regulations created by the MFC, the commission has 120 days from the date of the petition’s submission, Nov. 2, to take action granting or denying the request for rulemaking.