Important SE NC Information

[unoyankeefan]

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission held its public meeting on 1/8/07 to discuss concerns of the public. Discussed were:

• The use of hand-crank telephones to electrocute blue and channel catfish in the Cape Fear, Waccamaw, and other rivers.
• Should bow hunters be allowed during the muzzleloader season?
• Should turkey season be opene3d earlier?
• The possible prohibition of importation and release of mute swans that curtail the nuisance of Canadian Geese, but also other waterfowl.

Personally I wonder why North Carolina is the ONLY state that still allows gill netting wasn’t discussed is a mystery. Well maybe not with the strong position that Brasnight has in the state legislature.

For more information on the meeting please click the link below for the article in the Wilmington Star News.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/p...=2007701140379

[unoyankeefan]

For some reason the artcle link did not copy right so here is the text from Sunday's paper:

Public hearing draws a crowd to BCC

By Mike Marsh,
Star-News Correspondent




Every year the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission holds pubic hearings in its nine wildlife districts across the state. The District 4 hearing was held at Bladen County Community College auditorium in Dublin on Jan. 8.

Some sportsmen commented in favor of, and some opposed to, the 20 rule changes for fishing and 53 rule changes for hunting and conservation issues proposed by the commission.

The meeting began with discussions about a proposed experimental season for hunting at some specific game lands. It turned into discussion about Sunday hunting in general, which is not allowed in North Carolina except during licensed field trials and at military bases.

"You can do anything else on Sunday," said Trevor Capps of Linden. "I think you should be able to hunt on Sunday. If you want to go to church, you can do that, too. You should be able to hunt anywhere you can hunt any other day. Over 50 percent of hunters say they would hunt on Sunday if they could."

But Hayes Petteway of Elizabethtown was opposed to any Sunday hunting.

"I think game and wildlife officers deserve a day of rest," he said. "I'm also opposed on religious grounds."

Phil Edge of Grace Creek was opposed to the practice of using hand-crank telephones to electro-fish for blue and channel catfish in certain portions of the Cape Fear, Waccamaw and other rivers.

"They want to target the flatheads that are introduced catfish," he said. "But they are also allowed to take blues. I think blues and channels should be game fish. People come from all over to catch these fish. They are declining. If you are going to let people shock catfish, it's the same as spotlighting deer."

Chuck Maxwell was in favor of a proposal to allow bowhunting during the muzzleloader season for deer. But Capps was opposed to it.

"They (bowhunters) already have a month head start," Capps said. "Muzzleloader hunters should have a week by themselves."

A proposal to open turkey season earlier in several Southeastern counties brought strong opposition. At least a dozen people commented against the proposal, the most of any issue.

Bo McLamb, an exotic bird breeder from Dunn, gave several reasons for opposing a rule to prohibit importation and release of mute swans, which have proven to be a problem for wildfowl in other states. Once they become established, they chase away other waterfowl.

"A pair of mute swans costs $100," he said. "People buy them to keep nuisance Canada geese away from their ponds."

He said he has tried to raise mute swans, but had only raised one in many years of trying, while having raised over 100 of other species including black swans.

"They need cold weather to breed," he said. "They won't breed here. We don't need a permit because once you start with a permit for one bird, the list will go on and on."

The rules prohibiting the hunting of bears over bait have been substantially revised and clarified. The new rules state distances from artificial food sources and clearly define artificial food sources.

Outdoors correspondent Mike Marsh is the author of Carolina Hunting Adventures and other books. To report outdoors news or story ideas, e-mail him at Mike62774@aol.com.




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[Capt. kapoc]

Not to be a tool but NC isn't the only state to still have gill netting it is very widely used here in Va. Now where is the part about making a recripical exception for Va saltwater lic with theirs

Capt. Mike

[rich]

A lot of your north carolina charter boat captains are or were gill netters. Some of the best still gill net winters. Try telling them you want the other half of their living taken away while you are on a offshore trip on their boat. Gill netting in north carolina has been strictly limited because of the red drum population and I agree with limiting it like they have I htink it is a great way to sustain a resource and we now have huge numbers of red drum on the pamlico sound and for that fact we have had more speckled trout this year than I have ever seen granted I am only 23 and have not seen the huge fishing years you hear everyone talking about in the 70's and such.
If you want to ban gill netting from north carolina why don't we also start banning pumping of waste water into our rivers that run into the sounds and ocean. That kills fish too. Do you think it was gill netters fault of the huge fish kills in the neuse several years ago or was that pollution? So does that mean we have to quit producing any product that has any pollutant in it? And you are right Basnight does stand up for the commercial fishermen in NC someone needs to. Do you think when you go buy a flounder or trout at a resturaunt that it was recreationally caught? How about the people that are not fortunate enough to be able to go fishing to catch the fish they love to eat do you think they pay a recreational fishermen for his fish. If you get chance look in a salt water sportsman somewhere in north eastern north carolina is usually in there with one of the best places to fish for this time of the year for a certain species. The commercial guys are not out there trying to ban you from enjoying the water why would you want to ban them from making a living from it? I hope I do not offend with this but I just want to get out that there are more problems to our fishing than gill nets. I love catching fish recreationally but I grew up in a commercial fishing family and yes there are downsides to some commercial gear but why not try to find a way to cut down on those downsides instead of competely eliminating. I mean I enjoy hunting too but I am not trying to lobby legislature to tear down all civilization and make that back into forests.

[unoyankeefan]

No offense Rich, just a difference of opinion. I don’t think you can compare the Pamlico Sound area (greater in size that the Great Salt Lake) with the fishery in Southeast NC. At low tide the ICW in places would be compared to a large ditch. With those conditions an inshore shrimp trawler gives the fish no chance. I do appreciate going out with a net in October for the spot run (my only by-catch is pogey that I use for chum/bait and an occasional lizard fish) but it infuriates me to see someone string a net across the mouth of a creek and then see juvenile trout and redfish get thrown out left and right. If gill netting doesn’t hurt the fishery then why do we consistently hear reports of the redfish population tripling as soon as you cross the South Carolina border? I feel for the commercial guy who needs the income but I do believe that guides would like to see a stronger fishery so that there is a guarantee of their customers happy by limiting out. Basnight has been strong for the commercial fishery in Pamlico Sound but the continual blocking of legislation that would help SE NC without affecting Pamlico Sound doesn’t make sense.

[rich]

None taken. But you did refer to the gillnet comment for the entire state. Your area may need a net ban. I do not know. There are already restrictions set on the pamlico which I do think affect the whole state that removes gillnets from being left alone within 200 yards of the bank when the redfish and trout are here in their greatest numbers. I am not sure of the exact months but I do believe that it is between December and march are the only times gill nets are allowed that close to shore. So to the extent of the ICW being as wide as a ditch on a low tide they are already breaking laws by setting nets within that area and if they are going to break that what would keep them from breaking a law banning it completely? The 2 offenses will be the same fines and same costs for the ticket. I would also challenge anywhere to triple the redfish catches that are caught on the pamlico which has as many if not more gill nets on it than anywhere else in the state. I can take my rod and reel fishing and catch more reds in a day than any 4 or 5 gill netters can. Also, how are your nets any more special than everyone else's that yours only have a by catch of pogey and lizard fish and theirs catch trout and drum. Please do not take this as me being bashful I am discussing as I do agree to some extent that commercial guys take their fare share plus some but why not work with to reduce instead of working against each other to not get anything accomplished. Tred Barta at the end of his show one day made the best statement I have heard about this situation. That neither the recreational fishermen or the commercial fishermen are the enemies that it is the marine fisheries that needs the changing. That is paraphrased being I do not remember the exact words.

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

AMEN RICH BOTH ARE GETTING THE SHAFT FROM THE MAN.

[unoyankeefan]

Rich you make a great point that needs to be emphasized. There are already some decent laws to protect the fish, IF THEY ARE ENFORCED. I am amazed have many times I’ve been stopped by an NC Wildlife officer to check registration, safety equipment, sobriety, etc. but never check the ice box. We even asked them why they don’t and the reply we get back is “we leave that for the Division of Marine Fisheries”. I’m not a fan of getting stopped three times in one day (and yes that has happened just in the short ride between the Wrightsville Beach boat ramp and he Figure Eight Bridge on more than one occasion); but if they are gonna stop someone go ahead and check and make sure the fish regs are being complied with. With the new law that you have to tend the nets, we still come up on nets that are set and then left. Better education and enforcement of current regs would go a long way to making it a better fishery.

[rich]

I agree completely about regulations need to be enforced. No doubt about it.