HB 442

woodmoose said:
I mentioned it before, so please forgive the repeat,,, but lots of local folks made a living market hunting ducks (and all other game),,,,, until the resource couldn't handle it anymore,,,, and we managed to make it through

industries of the past go away, and new industries come along,,, it's the way of the World
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Nailed it IMHO.
 
ticklehill said:
If doesn't matter how good a fisherman you are, if the state won't allow you to keep a fish.
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Last week my neighbors came down from PA to their place here on the creek across from me. Their KIDS caught a limit of trout in about an hour fishing from the dock...but the powers that be will have you believe we don't have a sustainable population....
cheapdate said:
My numbers come from common sense and rational logic. If four pounds of bycatch are killed to catch one pound of shrimp, then that is a lot of fish that otherwise could have gone to market.
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No offense but that's a great big IF. The first net to go overboard from any trawler is a try net, a small trawl that gives the captain a look at area's potential. No captain is gonna waste time and fuel by dropping main nets in waters where his crew has to shovel back four times what they keep, he gets paid on what he brings back to the dock, not what he has to throw back.
The biggest flaw though is that they'd have you believe that every fish that makes it into a trawl dies before being shoveled back overboard. They don't.

Now do the numbers on how many juvenile fish were released that died from the estimated 18,600,000 recreational fishing trips annually in NC....
 
If they do away with trawling I hope they make shrimp pots legal in NC. It would be nice to have a way to harvest the shrimp in the sound before they are corn cob size and head to the ocean.
 
Longrifle said:
Last week my neighbors came down from PA to their place here on the creek across from me. Their KIDS caught a limit of trout in about an hour fishing from the dock...but the powers that be will have you believe we don't have a sustainable population....

No offense but that's a great big IF. The first net to go overboard from any trawler is a try net, a small trawl that gives the captain a look at area's potential. No captain is gonna waste time and fuel by dropping main nets in waters where his crew has to shovel back four times what they keep, he gets paid on what he brings back to the dock, not what he has to throw back.
The biggest flaw though is that they'd have you believe that every fish that makes it into a trawl dies before being shoveled back overboard. They don't.

Now do the numbers on how many juvenile fish were released that died from the estimated 18,600,000 recreational fishing trips annually in NC....
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The recreational bycatch is deducted from the recreational quota, unlike the shrimp trawl bycatch which is not deducted from the commercial quota. How is that fair?
 
cheapdate said:
The recreational bycatch is deducted from the recreational quota, unlike the shrimp trawl bycatch which is not deducted from the commercial quota. How is that fair?
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And it's a pretty safe bet that the numbers for one are just as inaccurate as the other. For decades now the commercial fishing industry has been one of the the most regulated in the state, at one point they were actually forced to have observers on their vessels. Ever hear about that happening to a recreational fishermen? I've been back home in Carolina for over 15 years and not once have I even been checked! You?


Look, I've got no beef with either side, I'm a recreational fisherman who grew up on a shrimp boat. At one point the vast majority of the folks in this area were employed in some way by the seafood industry. Now, if I had to give a number, I'd say that 90% of the working residents here have to leave the county to make a living and I could get fined a chunk of my monthly income just for catching and keeping a few fish for supper. I'm at the point now where I'm just wondering what else they can take.....
 
Longrifle said:
And it's a pretty safe bet that the numbers for one are just as inaccurate as the other. For decades now the commercial fishing industry has been one of the the most regulated in the state, at one point they were actually forced to have observers on their vessels. Ever hear about that happening to a recreational fishermen? I've been back home in Carolina for over 15 years and not once have I even been checked! You?


Look, I've got no beef with either side, I'm a recreational fisherman who grew up on a shrimp boat. At one point the vast majority of the folks in this area were employed in some way by the seafood industry. Now, if I had to give a number, I'd say that 90% of the working residents here have to leave the county to make a living and I could get fined a chunk of my monthly income just for catching and keeping a few fish for supper. I'm at the point now where I'm just wondering what else they can take.....
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I used to be employed in a dying industry. I retooled and relocated.
 
Longrifle said:
And it's a pretty safe bet that the numbers for one are just as inaccurate as the other. For decades now the commercial fishing industry has been one of the the most regulated in the state, at one point they were actually forced to have observers on their vessels. Ever hear about that happening to a recreational fishermen? I've been back home in Carolina for over 15 years and not once have I even been checked! You?


Look, I've got no beef with either side, I'm a recreational fisherman who grew up on a shrimp boat. At one point the vast majority of the folks in this area were employed in some way by the seafood industry. Now, if I had to give a number, I'd say that 90% of the working residents here have to leave the county to make a living and I could get fined a chunk of my monthly income just for catching and keeping a few fish for supper. I'm at the point now where I'm just wondering what else they can take.....
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Only been checked a handful of times
 
Recreational shrimping is gone with this too. A lot of recreational people like to shrimp Sunday evening and all of that will be illegal as well.

And 75% of all shrimpers are under 50 feet.

DMF graphIMG_0707.webp
 
Fatkid said:
Recreational shrimping is gone with this too. A lot of recreational people like to shrimp Sunday evening and all of that will be illegal as well.

And 75% of all shrimpers are under 50 feet.

DMF graphView attachment 177392
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I think there was a time that North Carolina could have set a limit on vessel length to trawl inside, but the NCFA's all or nothing approach has led to what looks like is going to become law -- nothing.
 
And here is their next plan. You are going to pay the shrimpers for what the legislators are taking from them!

IMG_0708.webpIMG_0710.webpIMG_0709.webp
 
HotSoup said:
Nice.....double a license in a catch and release fishery. Makes total sense....once again who are these idiots coming up with this crap
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Just passed in Senate Finance Committee this morning.

Your welcome.

The king takes it away and makes you pay for not having it!
 
Longrifle said:
Yeah, that's the ticket. Shut down an entire industry that for generations has put quality seafood on the table for millions of Americans because some guy who backs his shiny new boat into the water once or twice a month at 9 in the morning can't catch a limit and be back for the lunch buffet before it gets hot. Congratulations. You just crippled the economy of every small fishing village and tourist destination in Eastern NC because you suck at fishing....
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Bait
 
woodmoose said:
I mentioned it before, so please forgive the repeat,,, but lots of local folks made a living market hunting ducks (and all other game),,,,, until the resource couldn't handle it anymore,,,, and we managed to make it through

industries of the past go away, and new industries come along,,, it's the way of the World
Click to expand...
Exactly!
 
I think you either adjust or die off. NC should offer subsidies and continued larger tax breaks (like 100% depreciation) on new fishing vessels, gear, etc. to support the 300 commercial shrimpers. They do it for farmers, so why not? (PS - I am not an expert in all that the State provides for folks who make a living as a commercial fisherman). I know a few of these guys and they're good friends. I don't think it's fair, but things change in every industry. You can whine and kick rocks all you want, or adjust and still adjust it. I don't see many people riding in horse and buggey's anymore yelling "Cars are so expensive and we've been on a horse for hundreds of years! I am not changing!"

I do think it's hilarious NC wants to double the OOS license for fishing - aint no one coming here to fish LOL!!! NC is a flyover state. VA and SC are WELL worth the OOS license dues.
 
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Something had to give sooner or later. No spot runs like they use to be or gray trout both get hammered due to trawls. Recs have been reduced to 0 flounder, 1-gray trout, 1-slot drum, 3-slot specks. People probably were getting tired of all the BS and just going to neighboring states.

Virginia 3-slot drum, 5-specks, and 4-flounder per day
SC 2-slot drum, 5-flounder and 10 specks
 
“200 years of tradition, unimpeded by progress“ is something we say in my profession somewhat jokingly. Kind of applies here too……
Because that the way we’ve always done it.
 
for those who want to adjust they will. For those who want to play victim, they will.

I read an article about a man going to the gulf coast to fish for trout and drum. He said that the guides that they fished with all used to be commercial fisherman. He wrote that the all claimed to be making more and better money as guides than they did as commercial fisherman. As I said, those that want to, will adjust and survive.
 
Honestly I really am not so informed on this subject, but while pier fishing on Topsail Island this past Spring I witnessed a boat a few hundred yards offshore w/ nets in the water. Their quarry I do not know, but shortly thereafter a boatload of dead fish started floating up to the pier. Bycatch I suppose. It seems wasteful. Also since NC is the only state on the East Coast that allows trawling in the estuaries & sounds it seems feasible that this should not be allowed. This is where most marine life begins.
 
I have fished the piers at Topsail since the 50's and the fall runs of spots and mullets on those piers was huge every year. For the last 10-20 years or longer the runs are much smaller, yet you can go to the fish houses and pay big dollars for a few spots that have been brought in by trawlers. You can stand on the piers and watch them fishing just off the coast dragging the nets....gulls swarming behind the boats day after day. Also, surf fishing every fall for the runs was a big draw for all the businesses on the coast....now you can hardly catch one but can watch those trawlers filling up the nets....again, day after day till they are all caught.
 
They were lining up Sunday afternoon by the dozens. Getting ready and deploying trawling gear in Adams Creek and headed towards the Neuse. I've never seen that many at the same time. Maybe they found some, or they are just getting after it while they still can.
 
Back in house again tomorrow for final vote. I’ve emailed my representatives and gotten no response and from what I’ve heard and read it seems like most haven’t gotten any replies. It does sound like some have changed their minds. Just hope enough haven’t changed their minds.
 
I watched Bill Hitchcock's fishing report yesterday, and the first couple of minutes all he talked about was how the 4 to 1 bycatch ratio was wrong. I quit watching him because of his pro commercial views a long time ago, if he keeps this up I will stop watching him again.
 
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