May 2014 Newsletter - North Carolina Watermen United

May 2014 Newsletter
2014 Membership Renewal
By Kathy Sparrow
Membership Coordinator
In the second half of 2013, NCWU started a real push to re-energize its Membership after dedicating
much time and resources to push back the Game Fish Bill – HB 983 - against special interest groups.
By the end of 2013, we had resurged Membership numbers and the interest of our fishing
communities, and had our highest Membership numbers since 2010.
NCWU needs the support of fishermen – ALL watermen – recreational, charter & headboat captains
and commercial fishermen - and the businesses that rely on fishermen.
To join, click here and submit your application online.
Or give me a call and I’ll send you an application...Kathy at 252-305-6094
Letter from the President
Ladies and Gentlemen of the NCWU,
It looks like spring has finally sprung, and it seems like it has been a long time coming. We have had more than
our fair share of wind, ice, snow and fog. Maybe we got all the bad weather out of the way, and we can get down
to going to work, or enjoying ourselves in some pretty weather. Either way, we can’t do anything about the
weather, so we deal with it, and go on. That is part of a fisherman’s mentality.
The silver lining in the bad weather is that we have some time to devote to Legislative matters. The list of these
seem to stretch out father every year. Below is a list of things that NCWU has been involved in during 2013 and
already in this year, and whether you are a commercial, charter/headboat or recreational fisherman, you need to
take note and follow what we are and have been doing.
Whether you live and work on the coast, or just come to enjoy yourself, the economic engine that is fishing is not
understood very well in Raleigh or Washington DC. Special interest groups – and the money they spread around
– have hampered everyone that enjoys fishing or does it for a living. Recreational fishermen need options, and
so do charter/headboat and commercial fishermen. Fishermen of all stripes target what God gives us at any
given time, and that gives species that may not be in the best shape time to recover. Many times, the species at
a low level have not been caught, but are going through natural cycles. A case in point is the winter kill of
speckled trout this past year. Rather than open the season on these dead and dying fish, NC Fisheries
Management chose to shut the fishery down, which allowed countless millions of fish to wash up on the shore for
buzzards and gulls and other critters to eat. What a waste!
Now, fishermen are dealing with an artificial regulatory diminished harvest. It begs the question - when history
has proven that NC undergoes a winter kill, on average, one in ten years - why was the harvest not increased the
past two years when all fishermen were reporting unprecedented numbers of specks?
The bright spot is red drum. A phenomenal amount of fish has been seen in places, and at times, when and
where these fish have not been seen before. Rather than drop the size limit and increase the harvest and
institute a trophy tag, NC fisheries management has decided to remain “status quo.” Rather than celebrate a very
viable, healthy stock, management has curtailed the commercial harvest and kept charter/headboats at historical
size and creel limits. Conscious decisions on management’s part to deny all fishermen access to healthy and
vibrant resources is not the creed of NCWU.
Outside of the state, the feds are coming fast for your right and your privilege to fish. An ESA listing for sea
turtles and a possibility of an ESA listing for sturgeon is going to, and in many cases already has impacted
access to fishery resources. Historical numbers of turtles and historical numbers of nests (With their nesting
success), has not reduced restrictions that could pose an interaction, but has increased them. The government
has not even done a stock assessment to determine the number of turtles, nor said how many we have to have
in order to take them off the ESA listing. As we go to countless meetings about issues of access to fisheries and
fisheries management, the best we can get is a “Trust us.” No facts; no numbers; just a bunch of Lip Service It
makes me think of something my grandfather used to tell me. “Trust most of what you see, and very little of what
you hear. When it comes to the government trying to reach in your pocket, don’t trust anything.” Now, I
understand clearly what he was talking about.
Weighing in on management issues for all users of our fishery resources, we have learned a few things –
1. The fisheries management systems, both on the state and federal levels, are broken.
2. The way to impact change is through the ballot. Vet the potential candidates closely. Don’t believe what
they tell you, but look at their voting record. If they are not willing to “Do the best for the most,” you probably
shouldn’t vote for them. For the ones that are already in office, ask them questions and demand that they
watch out for you. If they don’t have your vote, then they don’t have the power that many of them crave.
YOU ultimately have the upper hand. Educate yourself on what is going on and join with us. We have drawn
the line, and we are making a stand. We’re making a stand for what is right and just and true. Ernie Foster
said it best when we were organizing NCWU…”Truth is the highest and easiest position to defend.” We will
continue to tell the truth, and if it steps on your toes, maybe you shouldn’t have had your foot in the way.
Y’all go fishing! After this long dreary winter, I am ready to see you on the rip!
Shack
Britt Shackelford
NCWU President
[email protected]
252-473-8078
What's NCWU Doin' For Me?
by Melba Milak
Executive Secretary
I hear it over and over – “What’s NCWU doin’ for me? Why should I pay?”
NCWU sends announcements about NC MFC, SAFMC, MAFMC, HMS and special-called meetings like bluefin tuna hearings, but
anyone can get those by logging onto the websites and signing up on the email lists.
What you do not see is the behind-the-scenes work by our Members and Board of Directors – who are not paid for the time and efforts
they make daily – and nightly – after fishing all day.
Many of the actions are IN OPPOSITION to a proposed rule or fishery issue, so sometimes, there is a “negative” connotation to the
work, but it needs to be done.
Since NCWU represents all three Sectors of fishermen – Recreational, Charter/Headboat and Commercial, we don’t always have
unilateral agreement on all issues, but after much discussion, we are able to present a united front to represent the best interests of all
fishermen and keep ALL of them fishing. We are far ahead of the “in-fighting” between Sectors that has greatly affected fishermen in
so many other states and shut down fisheries or decreased limits for them.
In 2013, NCWU •
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Opposed Game Fish Bill HB #983
o Sent three letters by email and “hard copy” to all Senators and Representatives in the NCGA
o Helped sponsor a bus to Raleigh for the Legislative Forum regarding the bill
o Ran ads in the Raleigh News and Observer with our reasons for opposition to the bill
Opposed the Petition to Re-Classify Coastal Areas as Secondary Nursery Areas (Shrimp Trawl Ban)
o Sent a letter by email and “hard copy” to the 9 MFC Committee Members; 10 Finfish Comm Members, 11 Habitat Comm
Members, 12 Sea Turtle Comm Members and 11 Shellfish Comm Members
o Attended two meetings in Morehead City and one in Raleigh regarding the issue.
Attended the NC Farm Bureau Federation Meeting to help Develop a “Policy” for adopting NC Harvested Seafood as an
Agricultural Commodity
Sent letters by email and “hard copy” to the NC MFC Director in regard to the extension of the Sea Turtle Incidental Take Permit
Sent a letter by email and “hard copy” to the Federal US Fish & Wildlife Commission in opposition to the establishment of a
Critical Habitat Designation for Loggerhead Sea Turtles that would affect 90 miles of NC shores
Submitted Comments to SAFMC on Vermillion Snapperand Red Porgy, on Vessel Monitoring Systems ,on Black Sea Bass,
Red Snapper, Comprehensive ACLs, Dolphin Wahoo and SEDAR 24
Submitted Comments to HMS on Swordfish and Bluefin tuna
Submitted comments to NC MFC on Sharks, Strategic Habit Area and Sea Trout
Sent proposals to NC MFC regarding flounder, red drum, gray trout and bycatch reduction.
Set up a booth and distributed information at –
o North Carolina Seafood Festival - Morehead City
o Day at the Docks – Hatteras
o OBX Seafood Festival – Nags Head
In 2014, NCWU has already •
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Provided a tour of Oregon Inlet and the Bonner Bridge for the NC Farm Bureau Federation
Sponsored an Informational Panel Discussion at Pirate’s Cove with the Dare County Oregon Inlet Task Force
Sent Requests for NC Fishermen by email and “hard copy” to all Senators and Reps in the NCGA
o Move the Commercial Sector and the Charter/Headboat Sector to the NC Department of Agriculture
o Move the Recreation Sector to the NC Wildlife Resource Commission
o Ask the NC DENR to enlist its Law Enforcement Officers to handle Observations for the state.
o Pay all LEOs their back-pay.
o Institute a complete audit by the NC Auditor to locate the “lost” money that DENR says was sent to pay the commitments
to LEOs.
o Oppose any action supporting the Joint Enforcement Agreement.
Joined the NC Fisheries Association in a request for an action proposed by two affiliate groups, the Ocracoke Working
Watermen’s Association and the Carteret County Fishermen’s Association, to ask the NC MFC Director to issue a
proclamation regarding large mesh gill nets and red drum bycatch.
So, please ask. I am happy to tell you what NCWU has been and is doin’ for you!
PLEASE SUPPORT US WITH YOUR MEMBERSHIP!
TUNA! TUNA! TUNA!
Fishin Frenzy
Capt Greg Mayer
Tuna Fever
Capt Billy Maxwell
Release
Capt Rom Whitaker
PHIDEAUX
Capt Jamie Reibel
Tuna Duck
Capt Dan Rooks
NC FARM BUREAU FEDERATION TRIP TO OREGON
INLET
NOT A BAD DAY AT ALL!
Melba Milak
Desperado
Capt Rob Barker
It wasn’t a bad day – not a bad day at all. It was raining, but only a misty
drizzle under a gray sky with no fog. The wind was blowing Northeast, but
only 5 – 10 mph, much less than some days when it blows 25 – 35 mph
directly into the inlet and produces enormous seahorse-mane breakers.
The waves were only 1 to 2 feet; just enough to lullaby-rock the boat, but
not splashing spray water over the gunwales. The channel markers were in
place; no creeping along watching the depth recorder every second. It was
cold, in the lower 40s, but not freezing.
Poacher
Capt Devon Cage
On February 26, 2014, eight charter boat captains fired up their diesel
engines and made a trip from Oregon Inlet Fishing Center – five from the
Center and three from Pirate’s Cove Marina. They snaked along the evermoving channel and under the bridge. But they were not headed offshore
with a charter party on a trip for dolphin or yellowfin tuna. They were not
tournament fishing, looking for showy billfish. They were not inshore-boats
going out along the Banks to reel in bluefish and Spanish mackerel. These
boats were not going commercial fishing for bluefin tuna as many of them
do during the winter.
Bi-Op-Sea
Capt Jesse Granitzki
The boats were taking about 60 members of the North Carolina Farm
Bureau Federation and Staff on a sight-seeing and fact-finding tour to look
at the problems with the channel and Oregon Inlet and the Bonner Bridge.
The NC Farm Bureau Federation Board is comprised of 63 Members, from
across the state. These men and women are the organization’s leaders who
direct and the guide the Farm Bureau.
In September 2013, the NCWU Board of Directors was part of a group of
fishermen invited to a meeting to discuss Fishery Issues for the NC Farm
Sea Era
Capt Dean Johnson
Bureau Federation. At the meeting, Farm Bureau members from a number
of coastal counties developed proposed policies that were subsequently
adapted by several county Farm Bureaus at their annual meetings. The
policies were presented for adoption at the state level. After discussion and
adoption by the statewide NC Farm Bureau Federation Resolutions
Committee, the Resolutions were presented to the organization’s voting
delegates for adoption at their annual meeting in December 2013. Among
the Resolutions adopted were ones in support of access to local seafood by
NC citizens and classification of seafood as agriculture.
Each year the Federation go on an educational trip, usually to see
agricultural production and marketing in another state. However, the 2014
tour focused on Eastern North Carolina. The Oregon Inlet boat tour, visit to
O’Neal’s Sea Harvest and presentations at the Coastal Studies Institute,
provided board members with an understanding of the importance of the
inlet to the coastal economy, of fishing to the economic health of Wanchese
and neighboring communities and of the engineering realities involved to
secure long-term ocean access for coastal fishermen.
Waste Knot
(formerly First Crack)
Capt Barry Sawyer
Fish N Fool
Capt Bobby Smith
The boats made many passes and lazy circles in-and-around the channel
and under the bridge while the board members asked about the shifting
sands and the dangers of maneuvering a boat through a constantly-shoaling
channel and what can be done to solve the problems. They noticed the
color changes – green, gray, brown, light brown - just beside the channel
and guessed how deep it might be – shaking their heads at the few feet of
depth. Many kept their eyes on the white waves lining the mouth of the inlet,
and most agreed that they did not want to cross through it.
Britt Shackelford, NCWU President, riding on one of the boats with Larry
Wooten, President of NC Farm Bureau, remarked that the 30% of the time
when the inlet is impassable would be the same as NC farmers being
unable to get to their fields for the harvest 30% of the time.
After about a forty-minute ride, the boats came back to the marina, not with
fish, but with much information about the dangers of the inlet and the bridge.
Fintastic
Capt Duke Spencer
The Federation Board also went to O’Neal’s Sea Harvest in Wanchese.
What an exciting day at the fish house! Not one, but two bluefin tuna! One
had been brought in late the night before by a North Carolina fisherman; it
was wrapped and iced ready to be air-freighted to Japan. The other one had
just been unloaded from a boat from New Jersey. The visitors got to
experience the whole process – weighing, testing, icing the fish interior,
wrapping in plastic, icing the box for a trip to the Fulton Fish Market in New
York. The cartons must have reminded some of the board members about
bushels of corn or meat packed for shipment.
Two silver-haired, distinguished-looking men, “Mister Benny” O’Neal in a
hoodie and boots and Larry Wooten in a windbreaker, stood talking quietly
about business on the cold, wet concrete floor - a variation of the threepiece suit traders on Wall Street. This morning in Wanchese, these two men
represented the essence – the very “heart” - of the commodities market.
Debbie Hamrick, Director; Specialty Crops, for NC Farm Bureau later
remarked “The Federation Board Members had an experience they will
always remember. Everyone buzzed about it all day long.”
Outrigger
Capt Aaron Wright
NCWU would like to thank the eight captains who provided the boat tour,
O’Neal’s Sea Harvest and the Coastal Studies Institute for their expertise
and all of their time and efforts to impart information to the Farm Bureau
Federation.
Farm Bureau Federation at O'Neal's Sea Harvest
Eat Local Seafood!
Rick Scarborough, Captain of the Speck-Tackler,
and his wife, Donna, run
The Captain’s Table Restaurant in Buxton.
The Seafood is always Fresh and Local!