Post by LSDeep on Feb 9, 2006 19:32:07 GMT -5
February 06,2006
Patricia Smith View stories by reporter
FREEDOM ENC
Closure prohibits the harvest of large coastal sharks in federal water
KILL DEVIL HILLS — North Carolina may take the federal government to court over a seasonal ban on shark fishing off the state’s coast.
Both the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Joint Legislative Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture last week gave their blessings for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to pursue litigation.
“We believe that North Carolina was treated patently unfairly in this final rule that closes the fishery eight months out of the year,” Louis Daniel of the Division of Marine Fisheries, told the MFC.
Division Director Preston Pate said the next step is to consult with the Attorney General’s Office and make a decision on whether to sue based on the strength of the state’s case. Permission will also be needed from Gov. Mike Easley, Pate said.
Pate received a letter from Bill Hogarth, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, in December stating he had decided not to grant North Carolina’s request for the federal government to change the closure lines.
“We have exhausted all our administrative remedies to the issue,” Daniel said.
Daniel said he believes NMFS violated several federal laws in deciding to implement the closure, which went into effect earlier this year. In particular, Daniel said, the closure violates a federal standard that requires that fisheries management actions do not discriminate between states.
The closure prohibits the harvest of large coastal sharks in federal waters, out to 60 fathoms (a depth found between 30 and 40 miles offshore), from Pea Island to Cape Fear from Jan. 1 to July 31 each year.
“That basically eliminates our traditional shark season in January and February,” Daniel said.
The fishery is a primarily a long-line fishery operating out of the Dare County area and targeting sandbar sharks and black tips sharks, Daniel said.
As originally proposed, the closure would have run from Delaware Bay to south of the South Carolina line, Daniel said. After public comments, the lines were moved to only include waters off North Carolina.
“We’ll that’s fine and good for Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland, but not too good for us,” Daniel said.
NMFS maintains in a statement posted in the Federal Register that the seasonal closure was implemented to reduce discards of dusky sharks, a prohibited species under the Endangered Species Act, and juvenile sandbar sharks, for which NMFS has determined are being overfished.
www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=26133&Section=Local
wouldnt the logical consequence be to close sharkfishing on all of the coasts for 8mth? that would end the complaint effectively.
Patricia Smith View stories by reporter
FREEDOM ENC
Closure prohibits the harvest of large coastal sharks in federal water
KILL DEVIL HILLS — North Carolina may take the federal government to court over a seasonal ban on shark fishing off the state’s coast.
Both the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Joint Legislative Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture last week gave their blessings for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to pursue litigation.
“We believe that North Carolina was treated patently unfairly in this final rule that closes the fishery eight months out of the year,” Louis Daniel of the Division of Marine Fisheries, told the MFC.
Division Director Preston Pate said the next step is to consult with the Attorney General’s Office and make a decision on whether to sue based on the strength of the state’s case. Permission will also be needed from Gov. Mike Easley, Pate said.
Pate received a letter from Bill Hogarth, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, in December stating he had decided not to grant North Carolina’s request for the federal government to change the closure lines.
“We have exhausted all our administrative remedies to the issue,” Daniel said.
Daniel said he believes NMFS violated several federal laws in deciding to implement the closure, which went into effect earlier this year. In particular, Daniel said, the closure violates a federal standard that requires that fisheries management actions do not discriminate between states.
The closure prohibits the harvest of large coastal sharks in federal waters, out to 60 fathoms (a depth found between 30 and 40 miles offshore), from Pea Island to Cape Fear from Jan. 1 to July 31 each year.
“That basically eliminates our traditional shark season in January and February,” Daniel said.
The fishery is a primarily a long-line fishery operating out of the Dare County area and targeting sandbar sharks and black tips sharks, Daniel said.
As originally proposed, the closure would have run from Delaware Bay to south of the South Carolina line, Daniel said. After public comments, the lines were moved to only include waters off North Carolina.
“We’ll that’s fine and good for Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland, but not too good for us,” Daniel said.
NMFS maintains in a statement posted in the Federal Register that the seasonal closure was implemented to reduce discards of dusky sharks, a prohibited species under the Endangered Species Act, and juvenile sandbar sharks, for which NMFS has determined are being overfished.
www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=26133&Section=Local
wouldnt the logical consequence be to close sharkfishing on all of the coasts for 8mth? that would end the complaint effectively.