[gambusia]

F23. Cape Fear River—Impose a harvest moratorium on striped bass in inland
and joint fishing waters.
Justification: This proposal helps conserve the depleted migratory
spawning stock in the Cape Fear River. The proposal for joint fishing waters
is a joint rule with N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.


Looks like the NCWRC wants to make it totally illegal to keep rockfish in the Cape Fear

http://www.ncwildlife.org/news_stories/pg00_NewsRelease/2008_09_public_hearing_booklet.pdf

 

[gambusia]

So you could catch and keep them while in the ocean/nearshore but not once they enter the river?

Am I reading that right?

 

[tcfisherman]

this Is Only If The Said Proposal Passes..............chris

 

[Topsail Angler]

So you could catch and keep them while in the ocean/nearshore but not once they enter the river?

Am I reading that right?

Correct. But to be honest I never hear of Stripers being caught in the Ocean near the CF river. Most if not all of the ones we catch in the River are stocked or offspring of stocked fish.

A lot of what I have read from marine biologists suggests we will never have a self sustaining stock on the CF until/unless the locks and dams are removed or more efficient "fish ladders" are installed.

 

[backlash]

Right on TA!!! I don't think the moratorium will accomplish much without building the fish weirs. Also, taking the dams out is most likely out of the question since Wilmington and Fayetteville would have difficulty drawing water from the lower water levels.

 

[tcfisherman]

ta. Are The Striper You All See ,hybrids, Most Of What I Catch In Washington Are Hybrids.................chris

 

[Topsail Angler]

I see very few hybrids these days, in fact none this year or last. Some one told me that after they discovered hybrids aren't always sterile, they quit stocking them down here for fear they would get into the ocean populations.