MFC Central Regional Advisory Committee mtg. 10/4/05

[NCangler]

The Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) Central Regional Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 4 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Craven County Cooperative Extension Service, 300 Industrial Drive, New Bern, NC.

The committee will review and discuss potential temporary management measures for the 2006 fishing season as part of the Draft River Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The MFC is seeking the advice of the regional committees regarding potential temporary measures. The herring population is severely depleted. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has recommended a harvest moratorium as the most expedient action to reduce the effects of fishing on the population. The MFC decided at a special called meeting on September 26th that a harvest moratorium would not be appropriate at this time, but that they would consider more restrictive measures than what are currently in place.

The MFC restricts commercial harvest to 300,000 pounds in the Albemarle Sound and Chowan River, with 200,000 pounds allocated to the Chowan River pound net fishery, 67,000 pounds to the Albemarle Sound gill net fishery, and 33,000 pounds allocated at the discretion of the DMF Director. There is a 25 river herring per person bag limit in place in coastal waters. Gill net mesh size is restricted in Albemarle Sound to coincide with river herring and striped bass migrations.

The committee will also receive updates on MFC/DMF activities that affect the Central District.

If you have any questions, please call Mike Marshall or me at 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021 or Katy West at 1-800-338-7804.


Agenda

MFC CENTRAL REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Ag Center, New Bern
6:00 p.m.

AGENDA



- Introduction

- Modifications to the Agenda

- Approval of Minutes -
- August 2, 2005

- Update
- Draft Shrimp FMP
- Recreational Commercial Large Mesh Gill Net Attendance
- Petition to Declare Oysters an Endangered Species
- Areas Restricted to Mechanical Harvest for Oysters
- Crab Pot Area Proclamation
- NMFS Bottlenose Dolphin Rules

- Potential Interim Management Measures for the River Herring Fishery
- Public Comment
- Discussion
- Recommendations

- Next Meeting
- Issues