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This proclamation
supersedes Proclamation M-21-2016, dated October 13, 2016. This proclamation opens additional portions of
central and eastern Albemarle Sound in Management Unit A to the use of gill
nets with a stretched mesh size of 5 ½ through 6 ½ inches. It maintains small
mesh gill net attendance throughout all open areas of Management Unit A, and
maintains openings for the Currituck Sound and portions of western and central
Albemarle Sound and tributaries in Management Unit A to the use of gill nets
with a stretched mesh size of 5 ½ through 6 ½ inches. It maintains a gill net closure
for portions of Croatan and Roanoke Sounds (Section I.B.) except for gill nets
described in Section IV. This action is being taken in order to allow directed
gill net fisheries for various species and to minimize interactions with
threatened and/or endangered sea turtles.
SEE PROCLAMATION FOR FULL DETAILS – LINKS
PROVIDED BELOW
Proclamation M-23-2016: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamation-m-23-2016
Proclamation M-23-2016 PDF: http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=a18ce8b0-c9d3-43a8-a750-9df24947602c&groupId=38337
Proclamation M-23-2016 Map PDF: http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=f1b9a1a7-4f5a-4189-9c86-abc9ca5acabc&groupId=38337
M-23-2016
PROCLAMATION
RE: GILL NETS –
ALBEMARLE SOUND AREA – PORTIONS OF MANAGEMENT UNIT A – OPENS
GILL NETS
This
Proclamation opens additional portions of the central and eastern Albemarle
Sound in Management Unit A to the use of gill nets while maEEintaining a gill
net closure for portions of Croatan and Roanoke Sounds to minimize
interactions with threatened and/or endangered sea turtles.
Braxton C. Davis,
Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:00
A.M., Monday, October 31, 2016 the following provisions shall
apply to the use of gill nets in the following areas:
I. MANAGEMENT UNIT A DESCRIPTION AND SPECIFIC
AREA RESTRICTIONS (Map 1)
Management Unit A: encompasses all Internal Coastal Waters
bound on the south by 35° 46.3000’ N latitude to the North Carolina/Virginia
state line. This includes Albemarle, Currituck, Croatan and Roanoke
sounds and their tributaries.
A. It is unlawful to use ANY gill nets (including
those described in Section IV.) in the area southwest of a line from Black
Walnut Point 35° 59.3833’ N - 76° 41.0060’ W; running southeasterly to a point
35° 56.3333’ N - 76° 36.0333’ W at the mouth of Mackey’s Creek, including Roanoke,
Cashie, Middle and Eastmost Rivers.
B. It is unlawful to use ANY gill nets (except as
described in Section IV.) in the area south of a line beginning at a point 35° 53.1720’ N – 75°
45.6160’ W on the mainland shore near Manns Harbor; running easterly along the
south side of the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge (Hwy 64 Bypass), continuing
easterly along the south side of the Washington Baum Bridge (Hwy 64) to a point
ending at 35° 54.3820’ N – 75° 35.9240’ W on the Outer Banks shore.
II. GILL NET ATTENDANCE, MESH AND
CONFIGURATION RESTRICTIONS
A fishing
operation, regardless of the number of vessels or persons involved, shall
adhere to the gill net restrictions specified:
A. It is unlawful to use gill nets with a stretched mesh length
less than 3 inches.
B. It is unlawful to use gill nets with a stretched mesh length
greater than 3 ¾ inches and less than 5 ½ inches.
C. It is unlawful to use unattended gill nets with a stretched mesh
length of 3 inches through 3 ¾ inches.
D. It is unlawful to use gill nets with a stretched mesh length
greater than 6 ½ inches.
PROCLAMATION M-23-2016
Page 2
E. It is unlawful to fail to actively fish gill
net sets with a stretched mesh length of 5 ½ inches through 6 ½ inches at least
once during a 24- hour period no later than noon each day.
F. It is unlawful to use gill nets with a stretched mesh length of 5
½ inches through 6 ½ inches unless the nets are:
1. Equipped with tie downs spaced no farther apart than 10
yards, restricting the vertical distance between the top and bottom lines to 48
inches or less; or
2. Equipped with floats that do not exceed 2
inches in diameter and 6 inches in length placed a minimum of 10 yards apart,
not to exceed 11 floats per 100 yards of net; and
3. Set so as to fish the bottom and not to exceed
a vertical height of 48 inches.
III. GILL
NET YARDAGE RESTRICTIONS
A fishing
operation, regardless of the number of vessels or persons involved, shall
adhere to the gill net yardage restrictions specified:
A. It is unlawful to use more than 800 yards of gill net with a
stretched mesh length of 3 inches through 4 inches in any combination per
commercial fishing operation.
B. It is unlawful to use more than 2,000 yards of gill net with a
stretched mesh length of 5 ½ inches through 6 ½ inches per commercial fishing
operation.
IV. GEAR
EXEMPTIONS AND RESTRICTIONS FOR ATTENDED, RUN-AROUND, STRIKE, DROP,
AND
DRIFT GILL NETS
A. Exempted gear
definitions:
1. Runaround, strike, or drop gill nets - gill nets that are set and then are
immediately retrieved.
2. Drift gill nets - gill nets that are used to capture
fish while being moved along by water currents and the net being actively
fished and attended from deployment through retrieval.
B. It is unlawful to use drift gill nets in the
Joint Fishing Waters portion of the Roanoke, Middle, Eastmost, Cashie, Chowan
and Meherrin rivers and all other joint water tributaries of the Albemarle
Sound Management Area as defined in N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Rule 15
NCAC 03R. 0201.
C. It is unlawful to use run-around, strike, drift and drop gill
nets with a stretched mesh length less than 3 inches and greater than 4 inches.
D. It is unlawful to use or possess more than 800 yards of
run-around, strike, drift and drop gill net per commercial fishing operation.
PROCLAMATION M-23-2016
Page 3
V. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. This proclamation is issued under the authority of N.C.G.S.
113-182; 113-221.1; and N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Rules 15A NCAC 03J
.0103.
B. It is unlawful to violate provisions of any proclamation issued
by the Fisheries Director under his delegated authority pursuant to N.C. Marine
Fisheries Commission Rule 15A NCAC 03H .0103.
C. The restrictions in this proclamation apply to
gill nets used by Recreational Commercial Gear License holders except the
allowed yardage in Section III and IV. The allowed yardage for
Recreational Commercial Gear License holders is described in N.C. Marine
Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC .03O .0302 as well as Standard and Retired Commercial
Fishing Licenses holders.
D. Proclamation M-3-2014, dated February 3, 2014 prohibits the
setting of gill nets in the Joint Fishing Waters of the state from midnight on
Friday to midnight on Sunday each week. Portions of Albemarle
and Currituck sounds are exempt from that provision.
E. N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Rule 15A NCAC
03I .0113 specifies that it is unlawful for any licensee under Chapter 113,
Subchapter IV of the General Statutes to refuse to allow the Fisheries Director
or his agents to obtain biological data, harvest information, or other
statistical data necessary or useful to the conservation and management of
marine and estuarine resources from fish in the licensee’s possession. The
Division of Marine Fisheries has implemented an observer program as an
inspection procedure to obtain such data.
F. The Division of Marine Fisheries has received
Federal Incidental Take (ITP) permits for certain threatened or endangered sea
turtles, and endangered Atlantic sturgeon. These ITPs allow legal continuation
of the inshore gill net fisheries in North Carolina, subject to permit
conditions. The ITP conditions are designed to avoid, minimize and mitigate
interactions with these species. Permit conditions require the division to
provide 7-10 percent observer coverage in the large mesh anchored gill net
fishery and 1-2 percent observer coverage in the small mesh anchored gill net
fishery in internal coastal waters. If the required coverage is
not maintained, large and small mesh anchored gill nets could be prohibited in
all Internal Coastal Waters statewide.
G. The intent of this proclamation is to manage allowable gill nets
in Management Unit A while minimizing interactions with threatened and/or
endangered species.
H. Proclamation M-24-2014, dated July 31, 2014 requires holders of
a Standard Commercial Fishing License (SCFL), Retired Standard Commercial
Fishing License (RSCFL), or Recreational Commercial Gear License (RCGL) who
deploy gill nets in Internal Coastal Waters with the exception of run around,
strike, drop or drift gill nets, to possess a valid Estuarine Gill Net Permit
issued by the Division of Marine Fisheries.
PROCLAMATION M-23-2016
Page
4
I. In accordance with FF-3-2016 it is unlawful to
possess flounder in Internal Coastal Waters taken from anchored large mesh gill
nets with a stretched mesh length less than 6 inches. In accordance with
FF-4-2016 it is unlawful for Recreational Commercial Gear License holders to
possess flounder in anchored large mesh gill nets with a stretched mesh length
less than 6 inches. These regulations are implemented in accordance with
Supplement A to Amendment 1 of the N.C. Southern Flounder Fishery Management
Plan. See listed proclamations for full details.
J. In accordance with N.C. General Statute 113-221.1(c) all persons
who may be affected by proclamations issued by the Fisheries Director are under
a duty to keep themselves informed of current proclamations.
K. Contact N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769,
Morehead City, NC 28557 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632 for more information or
visit the division website at www.ncmarinefisheries.net
L. This proclamation supersedes Proclamation
M-21-2016, dated October 13, 2016. This proclamation opens additional portions of
central and eastern Albemarle Sound in Management Unit A to the use of gill
nets with a stretched mesh size of 5 ½ through 6 ½ inches. It maintains small
mesh gill net attendance throughout all open areas of Management Unit A, and
maintains openings for the Currituck Sound and portions of western and central
Albemarle Sound and tributaries in Management Unit A to the use of gill nets with
a stretched mesh size of 5 ½ through 6 ½ inches. It maintains a gill net
closure for portions of Croatan and Roanoke Sounds (Section I.B.) except for
gill nets described in Section IV. This action is being taken in order to allow
directed gill net fisheries for various species and to minimize interactions
with threatened and/or endangered sea turtles.
By:
Braxton C. Davis, Director
DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES
October 28, 2016
1:00 P.M.
M-23-2016
/kbr
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