Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Legislature strays into fisheries management





The former menhaden vessel called The Coastal Mariner was rechristened The MicKey and sunk near Frying Pan Shoals earlier this month. (NC Division of Marine Fisheries)
North Carolina legislators made an unusual foray into fisheries management this summer when they banned menhaden purse seining off Brunswick County.

The legislation prohibits menhaden purse seine boats within three miles of the Brunswick County coast from May through October.

Menhaden, also called pogie, bunker, or fatback, are small, oily fish that travel in large schools close to the shore. Seine boats circle schools with a net, drawing the fish close to a much larger vessel that pumps the fish into its hold.

Oil extracted from menhaden is used in everything from lipstick to industrial lubricants to processed foods. The fishmeal is used in agricultural and aquacultural feeds. Menhaden are also used as bait in recreational and commercial fishing.

Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight voted for the legislation.

"Senator R.C. Soles, the most senior senator, requested this legislation to manage beaches in his district, and Senator Basnight agreed to vote for the bill because there are similar regulations for menhaden in the northern beaches," explained Schorr Johnson, communications director for Basnight.

In the 1990s, state fisheries regulators adopted a rule restricting menhaden boats off the shores of an area off northern Dare County.