Designated Spawning Special Management Zones designed to protect habitat and snapper grouper species The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has approved the designation of five offshore areas as Spawning Special Management Zones (SMZs) to help protect spawning fish and unique habitat associated with spawning activities in the South Atlantic, including portions of an elbow-shaped […]
Jim Kelley, Acting Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:01 A.M. Friday, March 25, 2016, the following provisions shall apply to the harvest of striped bass by COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS IN THE ALBEMARLE SOUND MANAGEMENT AREA: I. AREA DESCRIPTION Albemarle Sound Management Area as described in N.C. Marine Fisheries […]
MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Nominating Committee will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet immediately following the Nominating Committee meeting at 4:15 p.m. Both meetings will be held via conference call. Members of the public who wish to listen to the meetings may do so at […]
HOBUCKEN, N.C. — The Coast Guard rescued a 65-year-old man Saturday who was aboard a sailboat 25 miles east of Hobucken. Watchstanders at Sector North Carolina received a report at 5:30 p.m. Saturday that a man aboard the 24-foot sailboat Patty Kate was beset by weather. A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station […]
OAK ISLAND, N.C. — The Coast Guard rescued a man and woman Friday south of Fort Fisher Ferry Terminal near Cape Fear. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Oak Island received a report at 3:45 p.m. the two were stranded on a jetty. A 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Station Oak Island launched, arrived on scene […]
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting public input on a draft amendment to address management and conservation of blueline tilefish in the Mid-Atlantic. Four public hearings will be held between March 21 and March 29, 2016. Written comments will be accepted until Wednesday, March 30, 2016. The draft amendment considers adding blueline tilefish (Caulolatilus […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking input from commercial and recreational mariners for an assessment of navigation requirements along the Mid-Atlantic seacoast. The Coast Guard Waterways Analysis and Management System (WAMS) survey is focused on both the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico Seacoast System, open water systems typically traveled by mariners arriving […]
Agency also preparing Environmental Impact Statement NOAA Fisheries is considering new regulations in the shrimp fishery of the southeastern United States based on information indicating sea turtles are vulnerable to capture by skimmer trawls and tow times may not be as effective in reducing bycatch-related mortality as turtle excluder devices. The agency will host […]
New Gretna, NJ – An effort is underway by the Navesink Marine Heritage Association to have Sandy Hook Bay, Raritan Bay, the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and their tributaries declared a "National Marine Sanctuary." According to the proponents, if it is enacted by federal authorities it would add more than 12,500 acres of public-use parkland […]
The commercial longline component of golden tilefish harvest in South Atlantic waters will close at 12:01 a.m. (local time) March 15, 2016. Commercial harvest will reopen at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2017. The 2015 longline component commercial catch limit is 405,971 pounds gutted weight. Reports indicate the longline catch limit will be […]
