WILMINGTON, N.C. A bill that would ban the sale of three kinds of coastal fish in North Carolina is pitting commercial fishermen against recreational anglers. The StarNews of Wilmington reported Saturday that the bill would designate red drum, spotted sea trout and striped bass as coastal game fish and require those species be taken by hook and line fishing only. The bill gives commercial fishermen some relief by having the state pay them what they would have made off those fish for three years, up to $1 million each. Sean McKeon, president of the professional trade association for commercial fishing, North Carolina Fisheries Association, said there are 4,000 to 5,000 commercial fishermen in North Carolina. It wasn't clear how much the compensation program might cost. The goal of the bill would be the preservation of the species, but the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries opposes the bill. Agency director Louis Daniel said game fish status would give the recreational fishermen preference over commercial ones. The fish also would not be available in restaurants or markets. "It's not just a recreational/commercial thing," Daniel said. "It's a consumer thing, too." Stephen Ammons, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association's North Carolina chapter, said his group supports the measure as a way to keep the fisheries healthy and viable and to bring more recreational fishermen to the state. Ammons said the three species make up just a small part of commercial catches in North Carolina. And he noted that recreational fishermen also bring in dollars to the North Carolina economy. McKeon said he doesn't think recreational fishing suffers because the fish are open to commercial fishing, but he said a commercial prohibition on those fish will hurt businesses. "What kind of a person would put another man out of work and harm his family so that he could have more fun?" McKeon said. Joseph J. Smith Jr., the owner of Atlantic Seafood in Hampstead and a member of the state Marine Fisheries Commission, said the industry already is hurting because of regulations. "Those fish don't belong to just one group of people," Smith said. "They don't belong to commercial or recreational. No one can take possession of those fish. That's wrong." http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/nc-bill-designate-game-fish-splits-anglers ================================================ Fishing reduces stress and gives you a break from our modern world where everything is going a million miles per hour 73 Check & Clear 6 LOC: 38-54-14.60N / 097-14-09.07W |
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