Tradewinds - February/March 2019 by NCCOAST

COMPLIMENTARY

February/ March 2019

WWW. NCFISH.ORG

A Publication of North Carolina Fisheries Association, Inc.

Board of Directors The North Carolina Board of Directors is comprised of members representing all of the State’s coastal regions as well as the many facets of the industry gear type, targeted species, and commodity groups. The association elects its board members and officers annually.

Tradewinds A publication of the North Carolina Fisheries Association Tradewinds have been used by captains of sailing ships to cross the world’s oceans for centuries. The captain of a sailing ship would seek a course along which the winds could be expected to blow in the direction of travel. Tradewinds were important in the development of trade and provided a means of transportation and communications to isolated coast communities We are still isolated in a sense even with our modern ships, aircraft, telecommunications and the internet. We need a connection from island to island, person to person…and to the rest of the world. We hope that this Tradewinds will become as important to you as the Tradewinds were to our ancestors, not only to in-landers wanting to know more about the coast, but coastal people learning about other coastal people.

NCFA Staff: Glenn Skinner Executive Director Jerry Schill Director of Government Relations Aundrea O’Neal Administration & Accounting Tradewinds Editor Nikki Raynor Membership/Receptionist Tradewinds- Co-Editor 101 N. 5th Street Morehead City, NC 28557 Office: 252-726-(NCFA)6232 | Fax:252-726-6200 www.ncfish.org

Tradewinds is proud to announce that our publication will now be archived at: North Carolina Collection at Wilson Library University of Chapel Hill, NC

Brent Fulcher-252-514-7003 Chairman Doug Todd-910-279-2959 Vice Chairman Glenn Skinner-252-646-7742 Executive Director Dewey Hemilright-252-473-0135 Treasurer Area 1Vacant Area 2Dewey Hemilright-252-473-0135 Area 3Mark Vrablic-252-305-2718 Area 4Vacant Area 5Wesley Potter-252-229-1881 Area 6Brent Fulcher- 252-514-7003 Area 7- Doug Todd-910-279-2959 At LargeSonny Davis-252-725-0784 At Large- Chrissy Fulcher Cahoon-252-670-7223 At LargeRoss Butler-757-435-5317 At LargeJeff Styron-252-675-8354 Charter BoatRalphie Craddock-252-473-0953 Albemarle Fisherman’s Association Terry Pratt-252-339-7431 Carteret County Fisherman’s Association Bradley Styron-252-342-8821 Ocracoke Working Waterman’s Association Hardy Plyler-252-928-5601 Pamlico County Fisherman’s Association Wayne Dunbar-252-670-7467 Brunswick County Fishermen’s Association Randy Robinson-910-209-3463 NC CatchKaren Amspacher-252-732-0982 The Tradewinds is a free publication published bi-monthly by the NC Fisheries Association. All parties advertised herein and the claims represented are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Though every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all advertising and copy contained herein, the publisher may not be held responsible for typographical errors. The NC Fisheries Association reserves the right to refuse any advertising or editorial deemed inappropriate. The agency, its employees, agents or representatives may not be held responsible for any actions or consequences derived as a result of following advice or instructions contained herein. ©2019

February /March 2019

From the Chairman.................. 4 From Glenn Skinner................. 5 Nikki Raynor............................. 6

contents

From the Editor........................ 6 A Word From Jerry................... 7 NFCA Annual Membership Drive........................................11 Maritime Angels Update..........11 Brown’s Island 7: Bedtime............................. 12-13

Captain’s Spotlight..............................................27

AFLAC for Members.............. 38

Coastal Water Quality.........................................29

Councils & Commissions....... 39

Bill Hitchcock.......................... 15

Did You Know?....................................................31

AMSEA................................... 40

Mailboat: The Schools at Lukens................................ 17

Reminder for All Fishermen................................31

Red...Right............................. 41

The Graying of the Fleet.....................................35

Talk on the Docks.............. 43-44

Affiliate News......................................................37

Tred Barta.............................. 47

Bluewater Fishermen’s Association....................38

TW Disclaimer: Articles and letters appearing in Tradewinds are the opinions of the authors and unless specifically noted may or may not reflect the opinions or official positions of the North Carolina Fisheries Association.

Core Sound Waterfowl Museum................ 18 Marketplace............................ 21 FEATURE STORY

Legendary Captain Joe Rose Retires..................... 24-25

On the Cover:

Ship Wheel for Captain Joe Rose Photo by Barbara Garrity-Blake

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Fulcher’s Seafood................................... 44 Gordon’s Net Works................................ 30 H and R Repair....................................... 37 Hardison Tire .......................................... 41 Henry Daniels F/V Joyce D................... 33 Homer Smith Seafood.............................. 8 Hurricane Boatyard................................. 16 Locals Seafood....................................... 16 Murray L. Nixon Fishery, Inc. ................. 45 N.C. Dept. of Agriculture.......... Back Cover Offshore Marine...................................... 42 O’Neal’s Sea Harvest.............................. 34 Pamlico Insurance.................................. 10 Potter Net and Twine.............................. 41 Powell Brothers Maintenance................. 42 Quality Seafood...................................... 20

R.E. Mayo Seafood................................. 10 Robinson & Stith Insurance.................... 34 Rocky Mount Cord Co............................ 34 Salt Box Joint.......................................... 33 Seaview Crab Company......................... 33 Ted & Todd’s Marine Services................ 42 The Clement Companies........................ 26 Tred Barta............................................... 47 Walker Marine......................................... 16 Wanchese Fish....................................... 10 Wanchese Trawl..................................... 10 Wells Fargo Bank.................................... 22 Wheatly Boys............................................ 8 Wheatley, Wheatley, Weeks, Lupton & Massie............................................... 5 Wilheit Packaging................................... 33

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A word from the chairman ... LAWSUITS: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

awsuits. They are expensive, usually time consuming and come with other baggage. Sometime, however, they are necessary as they are the last resort. Lawsuits are not decided by what’s right or wrong, but supposed to be decided by what’s legal or not legal. Our adversaries frequently cite that NCFA files litigation at the drop of a hat. That’s just not the case, as facts will show. We discuss those options often, but most of the time opt not to file for a number of reasons. Sometimes we don’t have “standing” in a legal sense. Sometimes the issue is science based and we feel we just cannot win. And sometimes we just might not be able to afford it. While the number of lawsuits filed where NCFA has been a plaintiff have been few, we’ve won more than we’ve lost, both at the state and federal levels. That’s because we’ve been very selective and had our ducks in a row. The State of New York has recently filed a lawsuit against the federal government about the coastwide summer flounder quota. In place since the early 90s, the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, after many meetings with stakeholders and countless hours of debate, established state by state quotas based upon summer flounder landings in each state. New York isn’t happy that other states have more quota than they do. To be clear, the quotas were never based upon where the fish were caught, but where they were landed. North Carolina’s share was set at 27.4%. When considering the landings, was it ever assumed that 27.4% of summer flounder for those years in the equation were caught off North Carolina shore? Certainly not! That’s because our fishermen worked hard fishing for fluke where up the Atlantic coast and steaming home to land their catch. It should also be noted that our hard working fishermen were responsible for a considerable amount of quota established for other states. Why? Again it’s because the quotas were established using historical landings in that state, regardless of where caught or what boat caught it. This issue has tremendous economic implications for North Carolina because it’s not just about what a boat and its fishermen make, it’s about value added when those fish are landed in North Carolina and processed. If one takes away the ability to land and process summer flounder in our state,

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our very infrastructure for the fishing industry is whittled away. I urge you to pay close attention to this issue! In most cases involving these fish battles, it is commercial fishermen vs. “them”. In this case, sad to say, many of our brother fishermen from New York are praising the Governor and others for this litigation that could severely cripple our state’s commercial fishermen and their families. Sometimes one needs to take a timeout and wonder the positives and negatives of legal action. It’s natural to consider what you have to gain when litigating, but it may be more prudent to look at what one has to lose. If we win, do we really? Our adversaries will always be so, but in the process will we lose some friends too? It’s a very old adage, but needs to be said again, “be careful what you ask for”! Brent Fulcher, Chairman

A thought from Glenn ...

THE CIRCUS IS BACK IN TOWN

f you have followed fishery management in NC at all over the last 20 years, then you are already aware of the ongoing debate over how to best manage North Carolina’s Southern Flounder fishery. Every time the issue comes up it turns into a three-ring circus, complete with false narratives, finger pointing, and name calling. In fact, the last attempt got so far out of hand that it ended with a lawsuit being filed by the North Carolina Fisheries Association (NCFA). Despite all of this, significant changes have been made in an attempt to reduce the harvest of Southern Flounder. Over the years, size limits have changed several times for both recreational and commercial fishermen. Strict recreational daily bag limits have been set, and commercial gears have been restricted and modified, but to what end? According to a recent regional stock assessment conducted by the NC Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF), the Southern Flounder stock has continued to decline and is now in worse shape than ever. If this is true (and it is), we have to ask ourselves, “Why didn’t the management measures that we put into place work?”. After reviewing the data, it is my opinion that the management measures were successful at reducing the discard mortality and total harvest of Southern Flounder in the commercial fishery. In fact, as a true testament to the selectivity of commercial gears, by simply adding escape panels to pound nets and restricting the mesh size of gill nets used to harvest flounder commercially, dead discards now account for less than 1% of the total removals from the stock. Commercial harvest has also been reduced to less than half of what it was in the 1990’s, leading some to assume that there has to be less fish, but this argument quickly falls apart when you take a closer look at the recreational data. As commercial landings and discards dropped, recreational harvest and discards steadily increased, as fish that were lost to commercial gears became available to recreational anglers. Recreational harvest continued to rise until 2011, when the state once again raised the recreational size limit to 15 inches and

reduced the daily bag limit to 6 fish. Unfortunately, the increased size limit also increased the number of dead discards in the recreational fishery, to the point that they now account for 16.6% of the total removal from the stock. While increased size limits and gear modifications have reduced the overall impact of the commercial fishery, our inability to cap recreational effort allowed anglers to recoup those fish in the form of increased harvest and dead discards. The fact is, the management strategy we have implemented has reallocated the resource from one user group to another, while converting a significant portion of the fish once harvested into waste, with little or no benefit to the stock! To make matters worse, we continued to increase the size limit until we reached a point where commercial and recreational harvest is now made up almost entirely of female flounder, potentially jeopardizing the stocks ability to reproduce. This management strategy has brought us to a point where we are once again forced to find a way to end overfishing and rebuild the Southern Flounder stock. I admit that my assessment of this situation is based as much on common sense as it is on science, but I firmly believe that managers will have to take a common sense approach to management if we hope to rebuild this stock and preserve our valuable fisheries. The staff at the Division of Marine Fisheries are currently looking at ways to reduce total harvest and discards by 52% to 72%. While this may meet the statutory requirements to end overfishing, it will eliminate recreational harvest of Southern Flounder and bankrupt commercial fishermen. We need to learn from our mistakes and think outside the box as we move forward with the management process. There has to be a way to rebuild this stock without jeopardizing our traditional fisheries, and if we are willing to step outside of the box and work together, I’m sure we can find it. While the future of the fishery and fishermen is uncertain, one thing is for sure - the circus is back in town and it promises to be one heck of a show! So grab some popcorn and a front row seat, but be forewarned, the price of admission may be much higher than ever before. Glenn Skinner

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JOIN TODAY JOIN TODAY JOIN TODAY JOIN TODAY JOIN JOIN Membership Matters: JOIN TODAY JOIN TODAY JOIN Greetings! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Thanks to everyone who donated to our Maritime Angels Christmas charity program. Because of our generous donors, we were able to help many North Carolina fishing families who otherwise would have struggled to get through the holidays It was nice to see so many new and familiar faces at our NCFA Member Meet & Greet on the evening of January 20th at Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant in Kill Devil Hills, NC. Thank you to everyone who made the trip. I’d also like to thank everyone who showed up for our 2019 NCFA Annual Meeting on the morning of January 21st. A lot of important topics were discussed at the meeting. We appreciate our members’ input and opinions, and that’s why we invite our members every year to meet up with us. This is our big meeting once yearly where our members get to talk with our

board, ask questions, express thoughts and concerns, as well as vote on some of the decisions being made. We always encourage our members to attend. We still have FREE sweatshirts available to new NCFA members who sign up at this time. Offer is for one sweatshirt per “Individual” membership. This is part of our 2019 membership drive and lasts until supplies run out. We have limited sizes in the different styles and colors available, so these are given away on a first come-first serve basis WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. If you’ve been thinking about signing up for a while, but just haven’t gotten around to it, now is the time! Don’t wait until it’s too late to get the size or color sweatshirt that you want! Maybe you’re just learning about the North Carolina Fisheries Association and would like to know more. Please don’t hesitate to: visit our website - ncfish.org, call our office (252) 726-6232, or mail in the application that can be found on page 46 of this magazine to support our cause. Nikki Raynor

From your Editor Thank you to each and every one of you for your support in this new venture! I hope that you are satisfied with the story qualities that are provided in this publication. My main focus and purpose for taking on this task is to keep our fishermen informed, educate the public and to show that you (whether you are a fisherman or a consumer) are an ESSENTIAL part of our industry! If there is a question, subject or interest that you may have and would like to see in this magazine, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I will try my best to get the question answered, story written or interest directed to the proper people that will supply that information for you. With your continued support, we can show that we are using conservative, sustainable practices to keep our industry going for the years to come. Thank you Again!!! Aundrea O’Neal 252-503-8302 Aundrea@ncfish.org Tradewinds@ncfish.org

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NCFA Legislative Affairs, Jerry Schill

A word from Jerry ...

CONFUSED BY THE FEDS

hy am I confused? My next birthday will be my 71st, so perhaps you may think my confusion comes naturally. Just comes from a tired brain, you might say. Then again, there are many older folks who haven’t retired and they aren’t confused at all. Or at least they don’t think they’re confused. They speak from authority and many people believe them with no effort to fact check. (Social media doesn’t help in that regard.) Take fish politics. (PLEASE!) You may have read about the Modern Fish Act that passed the Senate with no opposition and then passed the House 350 – 11, and signed by President Trump on the last day of 2018. Many recreational fishing groups are saying it’s the greatest thing for recreational fishing ever. President Trump issued a statement after signing the bill and seems like he has heartburn over the federal fishery management council’s increasing authority and makeup of the eight regional management councils. If you know anything about fish politics, you would expect that if the recreational fishing groups are praising a piece of legislation, the commercial folks would be screaming about it from the opposite end. But they aren’t. Why is that? Maybe…just maybe…it’s because the Modern Fish Act doesn’t really do anything except make a few folks feel good and help a few rec organizations get some new members by convincing them they are just so darn good. And that’s ok. Groups that purport to represent folks need to be relevant or at least have that perception. Some background: The eight federal fishery management councils came to be when the Magnuson Act was passed in 1976. In North Carolina we have interest in all three Atlantic coast councils due to the fisheries our fishermen participate in: New England, Mid Atlantic and South Atlantic. We have “official” representation via voting members on the Mid Atlantic and South Atlantic. Some of our fishermen also have an interest in what goes on in New England and the Gulf of Mexico Council but we have no official representation.

Governors of their respective states make nominations for the Council to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary, then, has the final decision of the council appointments. I was appointed to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council for a three year term in 1989 and reappointed in 1992. At that time, there were only two members (total of 13 voting members) of the SAFMC that were considered “commercial”, being myself and Jack Amason from Georgia. I know from experience how tough it is when the appointments are not fairly apportioned. The councils debate, deliberate and vote on issues of concern for their jurisdictions in federal waters, but their vote is not “final”. In other words, the final approval must come from the “boss”, which again, is the “Secretary”. All of this is set up via the Magnuson Act, which morphed into the Magnuson-Stevens Act when it was reauthorized later. From day one, the Council appointments have been made by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. From day one, any regulations passed by the Councils must be approved by that same Secretary. The Modern Fish Act changes none of that. That’s not to say that the appointment process is fair, (it’s not) and that’s not to say that the decisions of the Councils are always correct, (they are not.) But ultimately the Secretary, in this case Wilbur Ross, nominated by President Trump in November 2016 and appointed the following February. So you can imagine why I’m confused when certain groups brag about a bill they got passed and signed that doesn’t do a heck of a lot. That confusion leads to frustration. Why? Because the REAL DEAL, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the one that has the meat, is due for reauthorization and it didn’t get done in 2018! A very good version passed the House but the Senate, instead of acting on it, passed the Modern Fish Act in the waning days of 2018. As noted, the administration has stated concerns over the increasing power of the councils and the appointments of the council members. Well, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce is the ultimate authority when approving what the councils are doing and that same Secretary is the one that makes the ultimate decision on the appointments to the councils. Maybe a nap will help make this seem clearer. north carolina fisheries association

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NCFA ANNUAL MEETING WILL BE

NCFA ANNUAL 2019 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE HELD JANUARY 21, 2019 As part of our membership drive, we at the NCFA are happy to announce that we are giving away a FREE sweatshirt to those whoPM sign up as a new individual member. You 10 AM3:00 can choose from the colors and styles below. This is on a first come-first serve basis Capt. George's WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Seafood Restaurant

Quantities are limited, so there no guarantees 705 S.are Croatan Hwy that we will have every size in every sweatshirt for long. This offer applies to an “Individual” $25 yearly membership appliKill Devil Hills, 27948 cation. With your membership, you’llNC receive a weekly update that is mailed, faxed, or emailed every Friday; to keep you current about all of the meetings and issues related to the commercial fishing industry. With your membership, you will also receive a subscription to our bi-monthly publication “Tradewinds”. IT’S IMPORTANT THAT ALL MEMBERS TRY TOcan ATTEND ORoffice ASSIGN TO If you’d like to become a member, you call our at PROXIES (252) 726-6232 or visit our website at ncfish.org/join-ncfa/ ATTENDING MEMBERS, AS IT TAKES A MINIMUM OF 50, EITHER IN ATTENDANCE OR BY Please be sure to provide current contact information when you sign up, so we can make sure to get the right size, style, PROXY, TO CONDUCT BUSINESS. THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY MEETING A YEAR WHERE and color sweatshirt that you want. ALL MEMBERS INCLUDING HALF PERCENTERS, CAN VOTE ON ISSUES AND GIVE DIRECTION FOR THE ORGANIZATION. EMAIL PROXIES TO: NIKKI@NCFISH.ORG or Fax to: 252-726-6200 We will have a "Member Meet & Greet" on January 20, 2019 @ Capt. George's Seafood Restaurant from 4PM-7PM. (Hors d'oeuvres and Lite Appetizers will be offered by NCFA)

Maritime Angels 2018 Update Once again, our Maritime Angels Christmas charity program was a success. Because of our generous donors, we were able to help many North Carolina fishing families who would have otherwise struggled to get through the holidays. We were able to help 27 children of commercial fishermen and one adult. This year we issued VISA bank cards for the families. The amount they received was dependent on the number of children in the home. The NCFA office staff would like to give a special thank you to Wayne Dunbar (NCFA Board Member), Sandy S. Ross, as well as Penny and Jane at RE Mayo Seafood for shopping for the families in their areas. Other cards were mailed directly to the recipients to shop as they felt necessary for their families. Thank you to everyone who donated time, money, and gifts to provide a happy Christmas for those who would’ve had a less than privileged holiday. north carolina fisheries association 11

Brown’s Island, 7- Bedtime OCTOBER 18, 2017 / DAVID CECELSKI

Courtesy, State Archives of North Carolina

This is the 7th in a series of Charles A. Farrell’s photographs from Brown’s Island, in Onslow County, N.C., in 1938. An earlier version of this story appeared in Southern Cultures, a quarterly journal published by the UNC Center for the Study of the American South

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n interior view of one of the mullet camp’s bunkhouses. Capt. Briant Gillikin, the number two man in the camp, rests in the bunk on the left. The man in the other bunk is unidentified. The pine board walls are reinforced with wooden crates, some of them probably containing canned goods. A carton of lard sits under the one man’s bed. Capt. Gillikin’s denim trousers lay on a cedar chest between the two beds, and a pair of willies behind the chest. The fishermen’s coats and other clothes hang from shelves above their beds. A battery-powered radio sits on a high shelf as well, near an ax. In the left foreground, a kerosene lamp and an open book, perhaps a Bible, rest on a small table. The fishermen’s coats and other clothes hang from shelves above their beds. A battery-powered radio sits on a high shelf as well, near an ax. In the left foreground, a kerosene lamp and an open book, perhaps a Bible, rest on a small table. Their mattresses are surely stuffed with dried seaweed. Local fishermen often harvested a red-brown seaweed from the island beaches to fill their family’s mattresses, especially after storms. If they’re lucky, wild goose or sea bird feathers fill their pillows. The mullet fishermen typically went to bed early so they could rise in the dark, drink their coffee, and be on the water at first light. Farrell noted that Capt. Gillikin went to bed around 7:30 in the evening. Born in 1872, Briant Gillikin was listed as an oysterman in the 1900 federal census of Otway, and as a farmer in the 1920 census. As with the other mullet fishermen, he moved back and forth between the water and his fields: fishing, oystering, clamming, and/or scalloping close to home in between planting, cultivating and harvesting his crops, but always returning to Brown’s Island in the autumn. He was also, one of his grandsons told me, a lay preacher, known for his ability as an exhorter of the Gospel. On the back of another photograph of the old captain (not shown here), Charles Farrell wrote, “Captain Briant Gillikin… allows that he will spend the winter on the Banks [meaning Brown’s Island], seeing that he has no responsibilities and likes the peace of the place.” Reprinted with permissions. https:// davidcecelski. com/2017/10/18/browns-island-7-bedtime/

Joel Hancock, of Harkers Island, N.C., once told me that his grandfather was very particular about what kind of seaweed he collected for mattress stuffing. Some seaweed varieties, like sargassum, that have gas bladders to help them float, proved too bumpy for comfort. Other seaweeds went rank or harbored a bothersome kind of gnat or flea after they were dried. A red seaweed, apparently a species of Gracilaria, was his grandfather’s preference. For more insights on coastal history, I highly recommend Joel’s wonderful blog, “The Education of an Island Boy.” He is also the author of one of my favorite books on N.C.’s coastal history, Strengthen by the Storm: The Coming of the Mormons to Harkers Island, N.C., 1897-1909.

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Do It!

By: Bill Hitchcock

God will give you strength, courage and wisdom to do and accomplish anything that is consistent with His will. But for some reason, many people fail to understand that you still have to “do it” and do it in complete faith in Jesus. “Footprints in the Sand” is a popular allegory of multiple authors about God’s beach. As the story goes, we see only one set of footprints in the sand during turbulent times. We assume those are our footprints and wonder where Jesus was when we needed Him most. We then find out that those footprints in the sand weren’t ours, but rather those of Jesus, which He made when He carried us through the rough times. Nope. Sorry. That isn’t how it works. Rarely does our Lord carry us, but rather works in partnership with us. We must be an active, willing and most importantly, a faithful participant in the thing we need Him for. Otherwise, there would be no faith, spiritual growth or dependency on God if He just came in, brushed us aside and handled all of our problems for us. God is not an “on-demand” servile miracle worker. For example, the Apostle Paul couldn’t handle a particular situation on his own. Paul went to Jesus in prayer on three separate occasions pleading for help and to have Christ take care of the situation for him. Did Jesus lift up Paul and carry him through the troubled sands? Nope. Jesus told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee”. Instead of doing for Paul, Jesus Christ empowered him to be able to grow through the situation. What is grace? Grace is God’s attributes bestowed freely upon us. They are spiritual gifts such as strength, courage and wisdom. They are given, received, and put to use by those who believe in Christ.

Now here’s the confusing part for some. You’ve been empowered by Christ with His divine spiritual gifts. Now what? Are you going to be like Paul and wait for Christ to come by and pick you up? Here’s another example. King David had had it in his heart to build a house of “rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God”. David was ready to begin construction when God told Him No! Do not build Him a house because David had, “been a man of war, and hast shed blood” (1 Chron. 28:2-3). God instead chose David’s son Solomon to build the house. Once announced, “David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 28:20) “And do it!” God can gift you with every grace imaginable, but if you don’t get up “and do it”, then it will all be for naught. Potential energy, (that’s us loaded with God’s grace) can only be translated into kinetic energy (that’s the doing part) by our will and act to do it! Strength and courage are made manifest once we put them into motion. Or in the words of the Nike Corporation, “Just do it!” When you are doing and doing the will of God, then God will “be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”. You may think you are doing it alone. You’re not! Have faith in Jesus, in His will and of the power of His grace. Demonstrate your faith by doing His will and applying that grace He has bestowed you with. Then, things will move from probable to possible, from potential to actual. north carolina fisheries association 15

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The Schools at Lukens WINTER 1991, Vol. 1, No. 4, ©Coastlore, P.O. Box 3, Harkers Island, NC 28531 Excerpts from research by Eloise Blair

here was no schoolhouse at Turnagin Bay, although families would hire Daisy Davis who lives at Marshallberg tells an interesting story about her a teacher to come live with them and teach their children. Littleton Mateaching experience at Lukens from 1941-43. Her initiation to her new teachson built the first schoolhouse at ing assignment there began with a trip across South River in an open boat Brown’s Creek in 1848. In 1886 Joseph C. Mason built a schoolhouse in a downpour of rain. All her teaching supplies for the year were on the boat at Brown’s Creek which served all the children from Turnagin Bay, Brown’s with her. Daisy cried all the way across the river thinking that she was being Creek, and South River. marooned to some dreadful, God-forsaken place. In 1902 the Shop Hills Schoolhouse was built halfway between Brown’s Immediately she was “adopted” by the Henry Banks family with whom she Creek and Lukens. One problem with this location was that sheep stayed unboarded for her two-year stay. Once she got acclimated, she found teaching der the schoolhouse and fleas were insufferable. Myrtle bushes were spread conditions there to be ideal She had great freedom to structure her classunder the schoolhouse in an attempt to drive the fleas away. room and plan her learning activities; she felt very little pressure from her By 1920 everyone had left Brown’s Creek, and the Shop Hill’s Schoolsuperiors who were one river and 18 miles away in Beaufort. When her stay house was moved to Lukens near at Lukens was over, Daisy found the Joe Mason place. In 1921 or it very difficult to leave the people 1922 a school was built behind and the place she had grown to the Joe Mason place at the Grove love dearly. Field. In 1943-44 there were eighA partial listing of those who teen children, grades 1-8, from taught at the Shop Hills School approximately 20 families living house and their Lukens Schoolat Lukens then ( see picture). The house include Fannie Paul, Bryan teacher that year was Miss Grace Paul, Daniel Caffrey, Molly Tingle, Wilson, a friend of Miss GeorgiLettie Mason, Clara Oglesby, a na Yeatman who then owned the Mr. Phillips, Bessie Wallace CarOpen Grounds Farm. raway, Pearl Smith, Lena Lewis, In 1944-45 school was conDaisy Davis, Helen Lewis, Edna ducted for only six months. The Willis, Sudie Guthrie, Sadie Thomlast teacher was Velma Johnson. as, Lucy Twine, Callaway Heritt, Whether the school was closed Grace Wilson, Virginia Wade, because no teacher could be Inez Davis, Hazel Noe, and Velma found to continue it or whether no Johnson. effort was made by the county to Great-grandmother Sarah Edsecure a teacher because of so Inside Lukens School (1943-1944) Front Row: Berkley Lewis, Madeline Pittman, James wards learned to read and write few pupils is a matter of conjecHenry Pittman, Bruce Norman, Eugene Pittman. Second Row: Brantley Norman, Sarah from the teachers who boarded ture. Some say that the wartime Jane Norman, Janice Norman, Mary Catherine Hardy, Dorris Lee Norman, Sadie Ray Pitat her home. Perhaps teachers shortage of teachers created tman. Third Row: Dorothy Pittman, Vanda Norman, Kathleen Hardy, and Elsie Norman. instructed her in exchange for the a problem. Regardless of why Photo courtesy of Eloise Blair. good venison stews and “freckled it happened, the closing of the biscuits” she provided for them. school sounded the death knell of Others who boarded teachers were Keigh and Brittie Pittman, Joe and Gethe community. Those residents with children were forced to move either to neva Mason, Nan Jane Pittman, Henry and Cora Banks, Horace and Pherbe Oriental or to the South River-Merrimon area of the west side of South River. Lewis, and Willie and Mary Pittman. The Lukens Schoolhouse was moved across South River where it was used In the year 1912 school was in session for only three weeks because of a for several years until pupils from South River and Merrimon were bused to smallpox epidemic. In 1913 the school term was lengthened from three to six Beaufort. months. All grades were taught in the one-room school, and there was never (Eloise Blair’s family lived at Lukens many years). (Reprinted with permissions) any high school instruction offered.

north carolina fisheries association 17

cswm & hc

Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center

Core Sound’s Winter Taste will go on! “At the End of the Road,” Harkers Island

he winter edition of the Core Sound Museum’s signature event, TASTE OF CORE SOUND, will go on as scheduled, despite the damages of Florence and the rebuilding to begin in February! TASTE OF CORE SOUND will be held at Sammy Boyd’s waterfront restaurant, Southern Salt, on February 22, 2019 with a full array of traditional winter seafood and wild game dishes. This gathering of seafood lovers, museum supporters, storytellers, decoy collectors and friends is hosted by The Redhead Society, Core Sound’s educational programming fund. “We couldn’t do this event now after the storm damaged our building without Sammy’s willingness to share his restaurant, cooks, kitchen and energy with Core Sound to keep this winter event on our calendar,” explained Karen Amspacher, Core Sound Museum Director. “Sammy has agreed to close his business that evening to help us. This fund-raiser for our educational programming is much needed this year as we make plans for school groups this spring and our summer camps this summer.” The evening will begin at 6 pm with hot crab dip, Down East egg rolls (one of Southern Salt’s signature recipes) and time to visit around Southern Salt’s huge cash bar. A silent auction of decoys from members of the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild, along with hunting gear and other outdoor equipment for outdoorsmen will welcome bidders in-house and online at www.coresound.com starting Feb 12. The buffet menu will include: • Conch Stew • Fried Oysters • Baked Scallops • Stewed Ducks & Rutabagas • Fried Shrimp • Chicken & Pastry • Winter Collards • Sweet Taters • Homemade Slaw • Light Rolls • Albert’s famous Lemon Pie The evening’s program includes a presentation by Robbie Smith of the Carolina Decoy Collectors Association discussing Shorebird Hunting on Core Sound. “Antique shorebird decoys are the epitome of great southern folk art. They are an unintentional art form which were made and used to attract and kill shorebirds for food. The story of shorebird hunting in North Carolina is a part of our heritage which needs to be told and the decoys are an art form which needs to be celebrated and enjoyed,” Robbie Smith described. The evening will end with a live auction offering a prize collection of redhead decoys. This year’s group includes a contemporary decoy by Kelly Nelson, an old-style working decoy carved by Patrick Eubanks and donated by Dr. Stan Rule and an especially hard-to-find heritage decoy by the late David A. Lawrence. A special item never before offered will be 18

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a “Carving Day with Brother Gaskill,” one of Core Sound’s award-winning carvers and a talented teacher-mentor for new carvers. “We are especially thankful for these contributions of time and talent from these carvers and contributors. These funds will be help bring back the strong educational programs Core Sound offers,” said Dr. Ike Southerland, Chairman – Redhead Society. SPONSORS FOR THIS EVENT INCLUDE: Trader Construction, Knott’s Warehouse, Rob Bizzell Family, Piggly-Wiggly of Kinston & New Bern, Eastern Aviation Fuel, Ace Marine & Rigging TICKET INFORMATION: $50/person (members) $65/person (non-members; includes one year membership) Tickets available at Core Sound’s Museum Store – 806 Arendell Street, Morehead City Calling 252.728.1500 Or online www.coresound.com All proceeds to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center Redhead Society for Education Programs

Shorebird decoy by Alvin Harris, made while living on Portsmouth Island; from the collection of Robbie Smith. Photo Credit: Brent Hood

TASTE OF CORE SOUND HOST ED BY T H E R EDH EA D SOCIE T Y

Shorebird Hunting on Core Sound F R IDAY F E B RUA RY 2 2 at 6 pm

Southern Salt, On the Waterfront - 701 Evans Street, Morehead City Silent Auction,/Live Auction Full Buffet of Winter Seafood & Game Ca sh B a r

GUE ST S P E A K E R : Robbie Smith, Carolina Decoy Collectors Association

$50/person (members) $65/person (non-members; includes one year membership) Tickets available at the Core Sound Museum Store, 806 Arendell Street, Morehead City and online at coresound.com

SPONSORS

Trader Construction, Knott’s Warehouse, Rob Bizzell Family, Piggly-Wiggly of Kinston & New Bern, Eastern Aviation Fuel, Ace Marine & Rigging All proceeds to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center Redhead Society for Education Programs

CORE SOUND WATERFOWL MUSEUM & HERITAGE CENTER

At the En d o f the R oa d

252.728.150 0 | www. cores o und. com

north carolina fisheries association 19

CARTERET CATCH

MAKE MINE LOCAL carteretcatch.org

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arketplace

1 Fisherman Road, Supply, NC

Beacon One Seafood

(910) 842-2203

Beacon One Seafood is a family-owned, fourth generation seafood business, open since 1965. They have over fifty years of experience in seafood. Beacon One Seafood was established in 1965 as “Robinson’s Seafood” and was operated by J.B. Phillip and his wife, Delorise Robinson. In 1971, the name was changed to “J.B. Robinson’s Seafood”. J.B. and his wife Linda ran the business and changed the name again in 1985 to its current name, Beacon One Seafood. J.B died in 2001 and his son Jay Howard Robinson now runs the fish house. They sell shrimp, oysters, scallops, crab legs, and always have a daily special. They are HACCP certified and are also members of the Brunswick Catch Association. They sell both wholesale and retail. Visit their dock-side location for FRESH local seafood! You can watch them unload your fresh seafood from their boats daily! Their shop is open from 8am to 6pm May through November, and 8am to 5pm at all other times. Beacon One Seafood is located at 1 Fisherman Rd. in Supply, North Carolina. (910) 842-2203 SNAP cards are welcome! north carolina fisheries association 21

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B. Garrity-Blake

aptain Joe Rose of Beaufort is a rare breed of fisherman. He is one of the few remaining owner-operators in the Atlantic Coast fleet of ocean-going draggers that ply the waters from Cape Hatteras to the Grand Banks near Nova Scotia. He talks about underwater topography and place names unfamiliar to the average landlubber: Hudson Canyon. New York Gully. Monster Ledge. Baltimore Canyon. Closing in on his 72nd birthday, Captain Rose is hanging up his oilskins. He took his last trip before Christmas. He sold his 86 foot steel trawler Susan Rose to The Town Doc in Port Judith, Rhode Island, a wholesale seafood company whose motto is Holding Squid to a Higher Standard. Independent trawler captains like Rose are becoming fewer in number for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the increasingly prohibitive cost of federal fishing permits. Permits, traded on the free market, are typically sold with the boat, and can far exceed the vessel’s value. “You get three times more for the permits than you actually get for the boat,” Captain Rose remarked. He has access to several fisheries, reflecting his philosophy of fishing. “I’ve tried to mix my fishery up so that I can be into everything. Whatever was good at the time.” His permits include summer flounder, sea bass, porgies, monkfish, dogfish, and skates. As few individuals can afford to buy into federal fisheries, the image of the independent fisherman plying the seas is giving way to the reality of hired captains working for companies who can afford the hefty price tag. “It’ll just be one big company before it’s all over with,” Joe Rose mused. He counted on one hand the number of owner-operator captains from North Carolina who still participate in mid-Atlantic and northern fisheries. It wasn’t always this way. Captain Rose recalled when independent fishermen were the norm, and small wholesale buyers were everywhere. “We’d pack out at Billy Smith’s in Beaufort and you’d see pickup trucks all the way to Morehead bridge,” he said. “Right behind the other – getting fish and going all over the state with them. You don’t see that no more – now it’s tractor trailers, and four or five plants from here to New Bedford take it all.” He added, “That’s what quotas do.” When you know it all, you can get it all. Joe Rose was born in a fishing family. His father, Clarence Rose, fished out of Beaufort, Vandemere, and even Greenport, Long Island. “That’s where we grew up summertime,” he said. “Daddy lobstered out of there.” One of eight siblings, Joe Rose and three of his brothers – Kenneth, Benny, and Bickle, became full-time commercial fishermen. Joe began fishing with his father at fifteen. “And I never earned a full share on Daddy’s boat until I was married two years! He told me, when you know it all, you can get it all.” Captain Rose and his brothers participated in a great variety of fisheries, including the flynet fishery off North Carolina. Flynets don’t drag the bottom but fish higher in the water column for pelagic species like gray trout. “One morning I packed out at Ralph Taylors on Core Creek,” Joe Rose recalled. “Got ice and stuff, and was back out the inlet by two o’clock.” He rounded Knuckle Buoy at Cape Lookout Shoals and noticed something strange. “I seen brown water come up - what in the world? It was fish, kicking the mud up in eleven, twelve fathoms of water.” He spun his vessel around and set his net. In no time he was steaming back to the dock with 40 thousand pounds of trout. “I called Ralph, and he said, Naw you’re just joking! You ain’t got no fish on that boat that quick! I said, have the gang down there. I’ll be there in an hour.” Fly nets were banned south of Cape Hatteras by state managers in the early 1990s in an attempt to recover gray trout stocks. In Captain Rose’s view, the closure had little impact.

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“All the species are going north,” he shrugged. “And we go where the fish are.” He pointed to the unusual abundance of shrimp off the North Carolina coast this winter, and the growing quantities of trout, sea mullet, and spot caught up north, as examples. “A man caught 3,000 pounds of spots in one tow last year off Point Judith, Rhode Island,” he said. “He wouldn’t take them to the dock until he found out what they were – he had never seen them before!” Give the boat a break. Let us pack ‘em where we caught ‘em. Since the Government implemented state-by-state quotas of summer flounder in 1993, North Carolina has received the largest share of the fishery on the Atlantic Coast, reflecting decades of high landings by Tarheel fishermen. Trouble is, summer flounder populations are trending north, and the bulk is now caught off New Jersey and New York. So fishermen permitted to land flounder in North Carolina find themselves catching fish up north, only to steam south to Beaufort Inlet to unload their catch. “Our fuel expenses last trip was $3,800, to steam two and a half days from New York to Beaufort Inlet, two and a half days back to the fishing grounds, Captain Rose explained. “Five days, just to unload your fish.” Although Oregon Inlet is the closest entry for boats steaming from the north, it is all but impassible due to shoaling. “Every time I went in Oregon Inlet I’d tear something up and it would cost me 15, 18 thousand dollars,” said Rose. He thinks one solution to the summer flounder quandary is to allow fishermen to unload their fish in whichever state is most convenient, and count the poundage against the quota of the state that issued the permit. “Give the boat a break - let us pack ‘em where we caught ‘em and credit it back to North Carolina,” Captain Rose said. He acknowledged the downside of this scenario: North Carolina fish houses would lose valuable winter business, which could threaten the state’s seafood infrastructure. There is no easy solution to this management problem. Rose did hold out hope that summer flounder may once again occur off North Carolina, if the Gulf Stream moves further offshore and waters cool. “This year, summer flounder have started to move back down. They’re all the way down to Baltimore Canyon now.” Some of the guys had come aboard in the night and stole part of the fish while we were asleep. I said, Now this is cute. Joe Rose and his brothers have unloaded fish in every major fishing port along the eastern seaboard, from Gloucester, Massachusetts to Cape Canaveral, Florida. His favorite port is his hometown of Beaufort, but he also has fond memories of the people and communities of Port Judith, Rhode Island

and Chincoteague, Virginia. He recalled a not-so-positive experience in the historical whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. “One night we went into New Bedford and had to wait until morning before they could start unloading us,” Rose said. He and his crew hit their bunks for the night, and the next morning they awoke to find the hatches off the boat. “Some of the guys on the dock had come aboard in the night and stole part of the fish while we were asleep. I said, Now this is cute.” The police never found the thieves. “They had security cameras on the dock – just so happened one was broken.” Captain Rose had an unusual experience when he steamed toward Browns Bank between Georges Bank and Nova Scotia. “Had a light gray line on a map with little fish on it - I didn’t know what it meant.” Turns out it marked an International boundary that was not to be crossed. “Here come the Canadian survey boat. He led us into Shelburne Harbor, Nova Scotia.” The next day Captain Rose went to court and faced the judge, explaining that they didn’t intend to break the law – they simply got across the line. “The judge says, ‘Son, how much money you got on you?’ I said, sir, I don’t know! I reached into my back pocket and pulled out one dollar.” The judge took it and said, “That’s your fine today, but the Queen says don’t be caught across that line no more.” You got to work around the challenges if you’re going to stay in it. Captain Rose has seen a lot of changes in the way fisheries are managed. Although regulations have increased, he says he’s never felt “boxed in” or defeated. “You got to work around the challenges if you’re going to stay in it,” he stressed. He goes above and beyond what’s required to conserve fish. For example, the commercial size limit for black sea bass is four and a half inches, but he makes an effort to target five and a half inches and larger. “I don’t want to see the small fish anyway - if I can’t sell ‘em I don’t want to see ‘em.” He has the Susan Rose rigged with a water trough and conveyor belt system to help keep small fish alive. “We don’t pick them up with our hands – juvenile fish go overboard just flipping.” He thinks more fishermen should do the same. “That would help the fishery a lot.” Rose is required to deploy a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) that allows NOAA to track the Susan Rose’s whereabouts. The U.S. Coast Guard boards their vessel regularly. They abide by gear restrictions and regulations specific to each permitted fishery. He reports his catches in a timely manner, and if packing out in two different states he must punch in “steaming with product onboard.” Although ocean-going trawlers are not yet subject to video monitoring like longline vessels, Captain Rose believes that cameras are coming. “I don’t know how much more they can spy on us,” he said. “I don’t know what they’re going to catch you at.” You can’t even help people no more. A longstanding tradition in the commercial fishing industry is for fishermen to set aside a “mess” of fish to give to friends, neighbors, and family. Fishermen are generous in donating larger quantities of their catch for community fundraisers. “I used to give like a thousand pounds to the fire department or to the church for fish fries about every time we got down this way,” said Captain Rose. But those days are gone for fishermen participating in federally-permitted quota fisheries. “We’re not allowed to bring fish to the dock to give away,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s against the law because everything’s on quotas and has to be documented and sold. You can’t even help people no more.” Joe Rose tested the limits of this system just last year, and paid a price. “Last year I saved some slippery ling and whiting for a friend up in Chincoteague who used to run a clam boat. That’s a species he likes, nobody else probably don’t.” A federal agent approached him on the dock and wrote him a ticket for $500 because he failed to list the handful of fish on his vessel trip report. “He kept mouthing, mouthing, mouthing. I said, man, I save a man a mess of fish – just write the ticket and go away!” Take care of the boat and the boat will take care of you. Captain Joe Rose loves the independence and challenge of fishing. He and his crew prefer to locate fish on their own, steering clear of other vessels. While dragging he›s pulled up wooden blocks from old sailing ships and stray anchors. He’s raced with porpoises and seen his share of whales, as well as stranger beasts like the wolf fish. “You catch wolf fish east of Georges Bank,” Rose said. “He’s got teeth like

a human and he’s mean – comes hissing right at you.” The Susan Rose has weathered rough storms and quick-changing conditions. “You take The Mistress, just went down off Rhode Island,” Rose said, shaking his head. “Went from light winds to 60, 70 mile an hour just like that in five minutes – that’s the way they do sometimes.” Two men were lost at sea. “I knew the captain,” he added. “He was a good fisherman. That’s too bad.” Captain Rose stressed the importance of staying calm and having confidence in yourself when conditions get dicey. “Take care of the boat and the boat will take care of you.” Joe Rose has earned the respect and confidence of his crew, some of whom have stuck with him for several years. Others sign on temporarily, earning sea time to qualify for tug boat jobs. A few are saving money for school. “One boy went to flight school and is now flying airliners.” My last trip was kind of anxious feeling. What’s next? Captain Rose has mixed feelings about retiring after almost six decades on the water. On one hand, he knows it’s time, and he’s ready to hand over the helm of the Susan Rose to a new captain. “Some young kid I hope. With lots of energy! I’m getting a little age on me – I can climb the rigging and stuff but I don’t feel safe like I used to.” On the other hand, life on shore has its own uncertainties. “My last trip was kind of anxious feeling. What’s next?” He smiled at his wife Susan, the boat’s namesake. “We’ll see how mama treats me. I can’t give orders no more, I got to take ‘em.” Joe Rose said he looked forward to spending time with his grandchildren, as he was often away when his own children were growing up. He also looked forward to getting back to his hobby: building radio control airplanes. “I’ve built over thirty airplanes - that’s what I used to do on the boat when we docked,” he said. While his crew took off for the nearest bar, Joe would break out his tools and get building. “They’d wake up next morning with a headache and no money, and I’d be sitting with my airplane, all my money in my pocket.” “No,” his wife smiled. “All your money was in your airplane!” Fishing can be a family affair. Captain Joe’s wife and two children have spent time with him on the Susan Rose while squid fishing off Cape May. “I have a picture of my daughter, about five years old, picking up butterfish and there’s a squid trying to crawl up her hair!” Rose laughed. In the family’s living room is a portrait of the extended family next to the Susan Rose. Also on display is the vessel’s original wheel inscribed with a poem written by his daughter Lisa, expressing just how proud the Rose family is of Captain Joe’s legacy as a commercial fisherman. Love can be shown in many ways For others to see and feel But you’ve proved your love to all of us in the turning of this wheel.

Barbara Garrity-Blake www.raisingthestory.com Living at the Water’s Edge (UNC Press) P.O. Box 91 Gloucester, NC 28528 (252)342-8028 north carolina fisheries association 25

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CAPT’S

SPOTLIGHT CAPTAIN TANNER MICHAEL LYNK F/V HANCOCK & GRANDSONS HARKERS ISLAND, NC

Name of Boat: Hancock & Grandsons Homeport: Cape Pointe Marina, Harkers Island, NC Owner: Tanner Michael Lynk Captain: Tanner Michael Lynk Builder: My grandfather, Charles Michael Hancock was the primary designer and builder of the vessel. My father Noah, and my uncle Randy Guthrie assisted in the construction. My grandfather passed away in a car accident in 1998, the name of my boat pays tribute to him. Year: Vessel was laid down in 1993 and completed in 1994 Length: 25.4 feet Hull Material: Aluminum Beam: 8.5 feet Draft: 7 inches Engine: 150 HP Yamaha Outboard Gear: Runaround Gill Net, Sink Net & Net Reel, Longline and Longline Reel, Oysters Top Speed: 35 Knots Propeller Size: 14.25 diameter, 15 pitch Ice/Fish Capacity: 40 boxes + 400 yards mullet net Electronics: Garmin GPS, Fathometer, VHF Radio, Spotlight, LED Spreader Lights Captain Hometown: Harkers Island, NC

y family have been commercial fishermen farther back than I am totally aware. Out of respect to accuracy, I know for certain that my family’s history in the fishing industry dates back at least 8 generations to the whalers of Diamond City, NC. In regards to the generations that have influenced me more directly, I begin with my grandfather, Mike Hancock. The legacy that he left in his wake has inspired me to carry on the tradition proudly. From my grandfather, to my father and uncles (Randy Guthrie and Robert Sharp), their guidance and education in the fishing industry has proved extremely influential over the years. Without their teachings, I would not be involved in the industry today. I began fishing and regularly tagging along with my father and uncle Randy around the age of 6 or 7. These early experiences included mostly shrimping and mulleting in Core Sound. Those early experiences have shaped me into the fisherman I am today, mostly concentrating on the Roe Mullet fishery in the Fall, while setting sink net for Bluefish, Sea Mullet, Spots, as well as Croakers. In the past few years, I have become involved with the long-line shark fishery during the summer months. This fishery is one that I was not brought up in but branched out into on my own volition. I am still educating myself in the shark fishery, but it is certainly one that I hope to become more involved in over time. Though my boat has been in my family since its original construction, I have officially been the owner and captain for six years. In those six years, I have made many additions to the vessel, including a mullet tower with dual station steering, a repower from a 115 HP engine, and in 2016 a complete and total overhaul of the vessel. The boat was sandblasted down to bare metal, the floor was removed while haul repairs were made, and finally the boat was re-primed and repainted to reflect her original beauty after nearly 23 years of hard work as a commercial fishing vessel. Though I work alone at times, most fisheries require at least one other hand. I have two mates who typically fish alongside me; my cousin Jordan Guthrie of Harkers Island, and Thomas Bean of Beaufort, NC. Both Jordan and Thomas are experienced fishermen who I have fished with consistently over the past ten or more years. I also fish commercially as a Charter Captain with Noah’s Ark Charters, a business my father and I operate together. I would recommend to anyone interested in joining the commercial fishing industry to first and foremost educate themselves about not only particular fisheries, but also the inner-workings of the industry. An understanding and fundamental knowledge of a particular fishery will take you much farther than being less than average at many fisheries. In addition, I would encourage new-comers to pay their dues and work under an experienced captain who is willing to share their knowledge and offer some guidance, otherwise you’ll learn the hard way. north carolina fisheries association 27

2019 NORTH CAROLINA OYSTER SUMMIT

NEXT STEPS TO MAKE N.C. THE NAPA VALLEY OF OYSTERS Tuesday, March 12, 2019 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, Raleigh 121 W. Jones Street, 4th Floor Raleigh, NC 27601

Join the North Carolina Coastal Federation and partners on Tuesday, March 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for an engaging summit and evening reception on the future of oysters in North Carolina. This event is open to anyone interested in the future of oysters in North Carolina, including: elected officials, fishers, educators, oyster eaters, scientists, resource managers, shellfish growers and anyone involved in establishing public policy, research, monitoring, managing, growing and harvesting oysters in North Carolina. Those attending will be excited by the progress that has been made in the past few years and leave energized to do their part in advancing the future of oysters in North Carolina. Participants will clearly understand the need and strategy of a multipronged approach to rebuild North Carolina oyster habitat, stocks and fisheries, smartly grow shellfish farming and improve the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coastal water quality and economy. An evening legislative reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Transfer Co. Food Hall will follow the summit and we hope you can join us for one (or both) of the events! For more information about the summit, contact Erin Fleckenstein at erinf@nccoast.org or 252 473-1607 $95 Early-Bird Registration closes Feb. 11 $125 Regular Registration closes March 5 Legislative Reception ONLY $50 28

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Coastal Water Quality Will Degrade Unless We Do More To Address What is Making Them Ill Stevenson L. Weeks

(Crab Point, N.C.) The Newport River, one of the state’s most productive estuaries, known for its tasty oysters, is in trouble. Growing up, I worked my father’s oyster leases there. When I’m not practicing law, I still try to farm there today. For many decades this estuary supported families like mine through its dependable abundance of shellfish and fish. Sadly, those days seem to be coming to an end, unless we can make significant changes that protect this amazing natural asset for future generations. Hurricane Florence dealt a devastating blow to the Newport River. It brought several feet of tidal storm surge and approximately 30 inches of rain to Morehead City, Newport and Beaufort. This, combined with persistently higher tides that push up groundwater levels and saturate the soils, resulted in high levels of bacteria, threatening public health and shellfish-growing waters. Since shellfish may be eaten raw, shellfish harvest is closed when pollution levels exceed state standards in order to prevent disease and sickness. The river was closed after Florence hit, and much of it remains closed to this day. Hurricane Florence merely exacerbated pre-existing water quality problems in North Carolina’s coastal waters. In 2017, 34 percent of all shellfish growing areas were closed to harvest, and that number rises steadily each year. Polluted runoff itself is a significant contributing factor, caused when we ditch, drain or harden the coastal landscape. Instead of soaking into the ground and being absorbed by vegetation, a much larger amount of rain now runs into creeks and sounds. Our streets and highways, with their drainage systems, are major polluters. This runoff contains bacteria and all kinds of pollutants including suspended solids, heavy metals, nutrients, and pathogens, which are the leading causes for impaired coastal surface waters. This pollution causes health concerns and economic losses in shellfish and recreation waters. To help restore coastal estuaries, the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) worked with N.C. State University on a stormwater retrofit project on NC 211 in Brunswick County, which successfully reduced the stormwater runoff that flowed into the Lockwood Folly River, reducing the volume of bacteria and other pollutants. This project will hopefully serve as a business case for NCDOT to install retrofits on all its ditches that flow into the Newport River to help restore its water quality. The North Carolina Coastal Federation collaborated with Wilmington and Wrightsville beach to develop a watershed restoration

plan that focuses on installing stormwater retrofit projects, reducing the stormwater runoff flowing into creeks. These projects are reducing the amount of runoff by 50 to 90 percent in some watershed areas, proving the case that if we make the investment, we can restore water quality and maintain our coastal waters as productive places for growing shellfish. But our coastal communities cannot tackle this alone. Pollution control strategies for stormwater and sewage become much less effective when “normal” weather patterns become extreme. They simply can’t function effectively when heavier rains and higher tides completely saturate the land. It turns out that farming shellfish helps remove carbon from the atmosphere and scrubs the crud out of our waters. Investing in the health of our estuaries clearly has many benefits both for our coastal communities and the country. We need our state lawmakers to act on water quality recommendations that protect shellfish farms. We need NCDOT and municipalities to significantly expand the number of installations of stormwater retrofit each year throughout our coastal landscape. We need to reduce the volume of polluted runoff reaching coastal waters if the Newport River and its sister estuaries are to be saved. The integrity and health of our coast are at stake. Not only are existing and potential jobs and economic benefits of the shellfish industry at stake, but also ultimately our entire coastal economy including tourism will suffer dramatic losses if we don’t multiply considerably our efforts to protect coastal water quality. We must act with urgency if we have any hope of ensuring that locally caught seafood will remain a North Carolina legacy and delicacy. Stevenson L. Weeks grew up in Crab Point on the Newport River just north of Morehead City. He has continued his family’s legacy of commercial fishing and growing shellfish there. He practices law with the Wheatly Law Firm in Beaufort where he has extensive experience in the admiralty and maritime area including treasure salvage. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2001, and has been listed in North Carolina Super Lawyers since 2009. In 2018 he was recognized as the outstanding lawyer in North Carolina in Maritime law by Best Lawyers. One of his community services is to serve as legal counsel for the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a non profit organization dedicated to the protection of fishing rights. north carolina fisheries association 29

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DID YOU KNOW? NC Division of Marine Fisheries 2018 License-Statistics Annual Report shows Commercial landings of finfish harvested in NC during 2017 was 19,734,622 pounds. Recreational finfish harvested in NC during 2017 was 27,434,020 pounds. Commercial Statistics (http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_ id=1169848&folderId=32492807&name=DLFE-139613.pdf) page 6. Recreational Statistics (http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_ id=1169848&folderId=32492807&name=DLFE-139614.pdf) pa

Reminder for All Fishermen 2019 Marine Mammal Authorization Program Most commercial gillnet, seine, trawl, and trap pot fisheries are listed as either category I or II fisheries under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/final-list-fisheries-2018). Under the Marine Mammal Authorization Program, all category I or II commercial fishing vessels operating in state or federal waters are authorized to incidentally injure or kill a marine mammal during the course of their commercial fishing practices. However, they must carry onboard their vessel a Marine Mammal Authorization Certificate and report all fishing-related marine mammal injuries or deaths within 48 hours of returning to port. A copy of the certificate and reporting form are available at mmap.sero.nmfs.noaa. gov. In addition, as a Category I or II fishery, fishing vessels are required to carry a fishery observer if selected by NOAA fisheries. For more information, please call the Marine Mammal Authorization Hotline at 727-209-5952 or visit mmap.sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.

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The Graying of the Fleet – East Carolina University Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) Debra A. Kosko DNP, MN, FNP-BC

Channel Catfish

Catfish Infections There are over 1000 species of freshwater and saltwater catfish worldwide. In North Carolina, we are famous for the venomous Carolina Madtom or Noturus furiosus. The Carolina Madtom occurs from the Coastal Plain to the lower Piedmont in the Tar River and Neuse River drainages. They are most prevalent in water temperatures of 64 and 74 degrees. Other catfish can cause septicemia, or blood infection, called Hole-in-the-Head disease, which is a highly infectious bacterial disease. These infections can cause soft tissue infections or may be severe and even life threatening. As we age, our immune system weakens, making the older fisher more susceptible to infections. Fishers with diabetes or other diseases that weaken the immune system are even at greater risk for infection. Once the infection sets in, it is more challenging to treat the infection which can quickly change from a simple infection to something serious, requiring hospitalization and in some cases, result in death. It is critical to seek medical attention at the first signs of an infection to avoid a more critical infection. But even more important is prevention.

ing and healthcare for mature fishers and their families in eastern North Carolina. I can be reached at koskod@ecu.edu; 252-7446421.

References: Huang, G., Goldstein, R., Mildvan, D. (2013). Journal of Medical Case Reports, 7:122. Doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-7-122 Kara, R.J. & Nakanishi, A.K. (2017). Recreational and commercial catfishing injuries: A review of the literature. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j wem.2017.07.007 North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, https:// flu.nc.gov/

Key to prevention: • Fish should be anaesthetized during handling to avoid injury • Gloves should be worn at all times • Minor wounds should be thoroughly washed • Use antibacterial soap or bleach water • Workers w open wounds, cuts, abrasions should not come into contact with fish GWEP is a collaboration of the ECU College of Nursing, Brody School of Medicine, and the PA Program to provide health screennorth carolina fisheries association 35

Get involved Become a member in your community CONTACT : Albemarle Fisherman’s Association Terry Pratt 252-339-7431 Pamlico County Fisherman’s Association Wayne Dunbar Hwd0123@gmail.com 252-670-7467 Oz Hudgins Home: 252-745-7424 Mobile: 252-571-2002 Carteret County Fisherman’s Association Bradley Styron qualityseafood@clis.com Office: 252-225-0073 Mobile: 252-342-8821 Brunswick County Fishermen’s Association Randy Robinson fishmancsx@gmail.com 910-209-3463 Ocracoke Working Waterman’s Association Hardy Plyler hplyler@gmail.com 252-588-0512 36

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AROUND THE COAST Affiliate News Albemarle Fisherman’s Association

Terry Pratt~“The “Basically the only thing going on crab around guys have been getting their pots is guys has are been participating in the pot cleanup, up,the ﬁshing real slow, but crab the water has ﬁnally other than that, we are pretty much out of business from cleared up from all of the hurricane runoff.” fresh water run-off. Lg mesh gillnet fishery is shut down because of Sturgeon ITP.”

Brunswick County Fisherman’s Association Randy Robinson~ “Speckled trout and red drum Brunswick County Fisherman’s Association

ﬁRandy shing has be fabulous, shrimping been Robinson~ “Shrimping stillhas going on,moderate, Inlet is the guys are catching big NC green tails and still in good shape. Lockwood Folly waterwaythe stillcrabbers needs are stillFederal pulling assistance in crabs. Lockwood Folly River has some for dreading near Varnumtown. shoaled up and we’reWe hoping to get assistance from It’s still real shallow. haven’t hadsome any cold stuns yet our legislators to get it opened back up.” this year, but they are still catching some spotted sea trout.”

Carteret County Fisherman’s Association Carteret County“Flounder Fisherman’s Bradley Styron~ poundAssociation netting is winding

Bradley Styron~ gotfor theus. crab up, down, it hasn’t been“Pretty a goodmuch season It’spots been

weather’s been good in theisocean, we haven’t a very slownot season, shrimping off andsosome of our been able to get out there to catch anything. Not shrimper’s have actually gone back to crabbing ormuch to going on right whatever else now.” they can do to try to make a living. Things haven’t been good for ﬁshermen since Hurricane Pamlico County Fisherman’s Association Florence.” Wayne Dunbar~ “Duck Hunting and Duck Guiding is about all we’ve been able to do here. Getting crab gear Pamlico Fisherman’s Association ready to setCounty back in March. Some guys are getting their Wayne shad nets Dunbar~ ready.” “Not available at time of print..”

Ocracoke Working Waterman’s Association Ocracoke Working Ocracoke Fish House~Waterman’s Hardy PlylerAssociation

Ocracoke Fish House~ Hardy Plyler “Our Oyster Roast went really well, we had about 350 “We’ve show had aup. good ﬂounder pound net sheepshead, season, even people We fried black drum, though it got a late start. The retail market has had cooked our homemade hushpuppies, had steamed a good season all fall. Wetail are lookingOther forward tothat, our we oysters and boiled green shrimp. than Annual Oyster Roast on for December 29, from 2pm-until. are basically shut down the season.” We’d like to welcome everyone to come on out and enjoy some oysters and socializing.”

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A WORD FROM: BLUE WATER FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION PO Box 51828, Boston, MA. 02210

Welcome to the New Year! I enjoyed a short but joyous holiday season, I hope all of you had the same. During my time home, I had a chance to catch up with many fishing friends of mine, both on and off the water. It was encouraging to hear that almost the entire US HMS-PLL fleet had a productive last quarter of 2018, hopefully productive enough to stabilize our ever-contracting industry before the harsh reality of winter sets in. Winter has become increasingly more difficult each year. Besides having to deal with whatever mother nature sends our way, we continue to deal with being denied fishing access to what used to be our most productive winter bottom. Since 2001, the Charleston Bump time area closure (Feb 1 – April 30), Straits of Florida (year-round) Amendment 7, 2015. Virtual denial of access to the Gulf of Mexico (7 vessels of blue fin tuna IBQ for the 85 remaining active HMS-PLL vessels to access the GOM). The 2001 Charleston Bump and Straits of Florida closures were put into place to rebuilt the overfished Atlantic swordfish stock. The same stocks were declared fully rebuilt in 2009 by the International Commission for the Conservative of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). ICCAT is the world body that monitors and sets each participating country in the

Atlantic, it’s highly migratory species quotas with the contraction of the HMS-PLL fleet from a high in 2001 of 400+ vessels to only 85 active vessels today. Any and all conservation goals that were targeted to be attained by the closures are being attained due to the contraction of the US HMS-PLL in itself. The Charleston Bump and Straits of Florida closures remain closed not because of conservational needs, but due to a “not in my backyard” mentality that exists within our regulatory process. The saddest realization is that our elected officials’ insatiable lust for votes fuels this ugly form of exclusion within our regulatory process, much less allow it to begin with. BWFA has and will continue to speak up and fight against this disgraceful injustice. The fish our vessels harvest sustainably are to feed out fish-hungry US seafood consumers. Denying us access to our bottom is denying our American seafood consumer access to the fish they enjoy. “Not in my backyard”? Simply shameful! BWFA President Marty Scanlon

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Council & Commission Meetings ASMFC Approves Addenda XXXI and XXXII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan

Mid-Atlantic Council Requests Public Input for Next Five-Year Strategic Plan

Annapolis, MD – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board), at its joint meeting with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), approved Addenda XXXI and XXXII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is seeking public input on the future of fisheries management in the Mid-Atlantic. A survey released today provides an opportunity for stakeholders to weigh in on how the Council has performed under its current strategic plan and what issues should be addressed in the Council’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. All interested stakeholders are invited to take the survey, which is designed to take about 15 minutes. The survey includes opportunities to comment on the Council’s vision and mission as well as the specific goals and objectives that will guide the Council’s management activities over the next five years. The Council encourages everyone to visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MAFMC-Strategic-Plan-Survey to access the survey. Paper copies can be obtained by contacting the Council office at 877-446-2362. The survey will be available through February 28, 2019. All responses are anonymous and will be aggregated for analysis and presentation. The public will have another opportunity to provide comments on the draft strategic plan later in 2019. For additional information and updates on the strategic planning process, please visit or contact Michelle Duval at michelleduval22@gmail.comor 919-601-3798.

Addendum XXXI Addendum XXXI, coupled with the Council’s complementary Framework Document, adds to the suite of tools available for managing summer flounder, scup and black sea bass, with particular focus on enhancing the compatibility of state and federal regulations. First, the joint action modifies the Council and Commission FMPs to allow the use of conservation equivalency for black sea bass recreational management, beginning in 2020. Conservation equivalency allows recreational management measures in federal waters measures to be waived, and instead requires recreational anglers to abide by the measures of the state in which they land their catch. As is done in summer flounder recreational management, the Board and Council will annually decide whether to enact conservation equivalency. Second, the Commission recommended NOAA Fisheries implement transit provisions in Block Island Sound, allowing non-federally permitted recreational and commercial vessels to transit federal waters while in possession of summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass legally harvested from state waters. Lastly, the Council’s Framework allows for the use of maximum sizes in addition to minimum sizes, commonly referred to as slot limits, to control catch in the summer flounder and black sea bass recreational fisheries. The Commission’s FMP already allows for use of this approach, thereby allowing both management bodies to use this measure in the future. Addendum XXXII Addendum XXXII establishes a new process for developing recreational management measures for summer flounder and black sea bass. These measures will be set on an annual basis through a specifications process, rather than addenda. The Board will approve measures in early spring each year, based on technical committee analysis of stock status, resource availability, and harvest estimates. Public input on specifications will be gathered by states through their individual public comment processes. By removing the need to develop annual addenda to implement recreational measures, the specifications process will provide the Board more flexibility in adjusting measures, if necessary, to constrain harvest to the annual coastwide recreational harvest limit (RHL). Further, the process will enable the Board to consider a host of factors, including: regional equity; regulatory stability; species abundance and distribution; and late-breaking recreational harvest estimates. To further aid in setting specifications, the Addendum establishes standards and guiding principles intended to structure the development of recreational measures on a regional basis. Addenda XXXI and XXXII will be available on the Commission website, www. asmfc.org, on each species webpage by the end of December. For more information on summer flounder and scup, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org, and for information on black sea bass, contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org, or 703.842.0740.

north carolina fisheries association 39

EPIRBS AND PLBS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN REGISTERED AND USED PROPERLY Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) have saved thousands of people both on land and at sea. Their development and use have gone a long way to taking the search out of search and rescue (SAR). However, despite the sophistication of this technology, there are fundamentals that are critical to getting the most out of these convenient, emergency communication devices. First and foremost, register your EPIRB or PLB and be sure that your emergency contact numbers and other information are current and correct. “We handle EPIRB alerts with a bias for action,” said Lt. Daniel Dunn, a command duty officer in the Fifth Coast Guard District’s command center. “We have to treat them as actual distress calls until we can prove otherwise.” If the Coast Guard receives an EPIRB alert and can’t trace it to the owner due to missing or outdated registration information, they must launch aircraft and boat crews, at a cost of many thousands of dollars. Many EPIRBs purchased in retail stores are registered right at the point of sale. However, many EPIRBs are purchased online, where there is no salesperson to remind the purchaser to fill out and send in the registration. As a result, the number of unregistered EPIRBs has likely grown. By law, all emergency locator beacons must be registered with NOAA. To register or update a registration, visit http:// beaconregistration.noaa.gov/. An unregistered EPIRB signal is often a false alarm, costing SAR teams a loss of time and money, putting them at risk unnecessarily and distracting them from real emergencies. According the Coast Guard, “Coast Guard personnel were only able to contact 163 of the more than 700 EPIRB owners to determine the cause of the false alerts. The other individuals had not registered their beacons, not updated their registration information, or had disposed of them improperly.” When you receive the registration sticker to attach to your EPIRB, it is very important to check the alphanumeric code on your sticker. The sticker’s code and the one on your EPIRB or PLB should be exactly the same sequence of letters and numbers. There have been cases where a clerical error was made and a wrong number or letter was typed into the EPIRB/SAR database. This results in a delayed rescue and makes it difficult to find out if it is an accidental alert and resolve the search case quickly. 40

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When selling your vessel and its EPIRB to a new owner, make sure that you change the registration information to the new owner. There have been several cases where an EPIRB was activated, the previous owner was called, and he did not even know where his old boat was located, having sold it several years before. Make sure that the batteries are not expired and if it is a Category 1, self-release EPIRB, that the hydrostatic release, which is good for two years, is in date. Last but not least, remember that an EPIRB or PLB should only be activated in case of a life-threatening emergency. A young man in Colorado did not bother to register his PLB and activated it whenever he was backcountry skiing or traveling. His improper usage caused Colorado’s SAR weeks of work and thousands of dollars to track down, only to finally find him in a medical office. Satellite technology, made possible by funding by numerous governments, has made EPIRBs and PLBs very effective tools for recue. However, their effectiveness is only as good as the information provided and proper use by their owners. Know the important, basic usage protocols before you go!

“ Red Right ….… A belated Happy New Year to all. I want to kick the year off by looking at the big picture, specifically the Big Eight. We refer to the items listed below as the BIG 8. If you have issues with any of these items, such as missing or inoperable, you would not be issued a safety decal until the problem is resolved. When boarded by the Coast Guard while operating and any of these items are a problem, most likely your voyage would be terminated and a hefty fine imposed. Termination of unsafe operations is not limited to the following but the Big Eight are clearly common-sense safety items all Commercial Fisherman should be very familiar with and in complete compliance.

The Big Eight CFV safety items are as follows: • PFDs and Immersion Suits • Distress Signals • Survival Craft • Fire Fighting Equipment • Bilge pumps and High-water alarms • EPIRBs and Communication Equipment • Navigation Lights • Drills, Safety Orientation, and Stability Instructions

want to hear rom YOU!!

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The specifics of how each of these items relates to your vessel is dependent on a number of factors which include but not limited to; the size of your vessel, where and when you are fishing. An easy way to determine if you are in compliance is to use this checklist generator tool. It provides a custom list of safety items specific to your particular vessel and fishing operations. It can be found at the website listed below. Commercial Fishing Vessel Checklist Generator http://www.fishsafewest.info/checklist.html Stay safe and Return…. - Phil Amanna, Coast Guard Auxiliary - Barry Everhardt, Coast Guard CIV, CFVS

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Talk on the Dock NEW MFC MEMBER SAM ROMANO:

LOOKING FOR COMMON GROUND Sam Romano, co-owner of Seaview Crab Company in Wilmington, was recently appointed by Governor Cooper to the Marine Fisheries Commission to represent commercial fishing interests, along with crabber Mike Blanton of Elizabeth City and processor Doug Cross of Bayboro. I caught up with Sam Romano, 37, to learn more about his experience in the industry, his impression of his first MFC meeting, and what he hopes to bring to the table in the future. “My brother Joe and I were floundering in the metaphorical sense,” he explained, describing his stint as an undergrad at UNC-W and his brother›s in a master’s program while holding odd jobs. Although Sam earned a degree in environmental science, he felt drawn to working with his hands. Ultimately the brothers teamed up with Nathan King, crucial in their fishmonger training, and they became equal partners in Seaview Crab Co. “We had to use our brains in the seafood business more than we did in school. Commercial fishing was more challenging than the academic world, and we felt it had more potential.” In 2006 Wilmington offered few places to sell crabs, so the young men took their catch on the road, peddling the crustaceans under a popup tent with a sign that read “Live Blue Crabs, Jimmies, Mixed.” “People stopped!” Sam added, sounding surprised even now, thirteen years later. The Romano brothers tackled the puzzle of suppliers, marketing, logistics, and consumer tastes, wading into the “broader picture of seafood.” They were among the first to use social media – text blasts, Facebook, Instagram, and an electronic newsletter – for direct marketing and to grow a loyal customer base. Their business has since grown to two brick and mortar stores and several open-air markets as far west as Sanford. “Getting seafood inland is not super simple,” he said. “There’s lots of barriers – city ordinances, boards of health, all sorts of bureaucracy.” Sam Romano talks about their “hard knocks” years as shaping who they are today. Although they’ve grown, employing as many as fifty people during the high season (“it’s a beast!”), they take nothing for granted and plow their earnings back into their business. “We stay humble and nervous from our earlier struggles,” he added. Sam and his brother took turns hitting the road, traveling to Down East and other area looking for new suppliers. That’s when they started to learn about fish politics. “I’d go to Cedar Island, places like that,” Sam explained, “I’d ask the

fishermen – intelligent, interesting people - what their challenges were.” The greatest puzzle of all became apparent. “Why are we seeing this incredible market on one hand, and on the other hand fishermen are struggling with imports, fuel prices, and overregulation? What’s holding North Carolina back?” Sam heard complaints about the industry’s weakened voice in management, and an increasingly hostile political climate. He noticed that as fish houses closed down, communities grappled with economic uncertainty, lack of purpose, and all the social ills associated with loss of work. “As human beings, we have to remember that local food is so important,” he stressed. “North Carolina is built on this sea harvest – this (Continued on page 44)

Sam Romano

Photo by Barbara Garrity-Blake north carolina fisheries association 43

(Continued from page 43)

is food. This is nutrition. This is a cultural stamp. We’re not selling mattresses here – it’s not a consumer item.” Sam considers the occupation itself good for the soul. “After all my frustration, daily challenges, lack of money, I come back to this: commercial fishing is good quality work that keeps people’s minds healthy. It’s a good way to get through the day.” To the Romano brothers, the fishing industry was worth fighting for. He and Joe began attending meetings and getting familiar with the regulatory process. They observed leaders in the industry such as Brent Fulcher and Bradley Styron make their case and take a stand. “We wanted to do our part. My brother began writing letters, and educating our customers. I wanted to figure out how to help too.” Perhaps he got more than he bargained for with an appointment to the Marine Fisheries Commission, but Sam Romano is excited about rising to this new challenge. After his first MFC meeting, he was fired up. He looks forward to the upcoming February session. “I’ve got to get my facts in order. And I’ve been reading up on the Magnuson Act, the federal guidelines. I think that people forget that we are tasked with upholding the use of these fisheries,” he said, noting that fish is both a natural resource to conserve and a source of food to harvest. “If we were just protecting the fisheries, then we wouldn’t allow fishing.” Romano believes Commissioners should give more weight to recommendations from the advisory committees. “They may have a more nuanced understanding of the issues,” he explained. He’s is also concerned about the corrosive impact of politics and conflict on the management process. “Looking at issues through the lens of commercial versus recreational is a bad way to think about it. How

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about North Carolina pride?” he asked. “I sell bait, I like to fish for fun. I’m not the enemy. Why does recreational and commercial fishing have to be so polarized?” Focusing on common ground, in Sam’s mind, will help improve the process of stakeholders coming to the table to derive solutions. He’s optimistic that there’s a way for participants to communicate that does not invite grandstanding or nitpicking, and ways to manage fisheries for the long-term, rather than making knee-jerk decisions. “There are better ways to come together, as people, to make decisions,” Sam said, stressing that anglers and watermen have more in common than they think. “Fishing creates opportunities for data collection and research. Why can’t we work together? How can I get the point across to the recreational angler that commercial fishing is an asset, and we’re not a nuisance trying to take something from you?” One thing is for sure: the fisheries management process can only benefit from participants like Sam Romano, bringing new ideas, a fresh perspective, and a spirit of collaboration.

Barbara Garrity-Blake www.raisingthestory.com Living at the Water’s Edge (UNC Press) P.O. Box 91 Gloucester, NC 28528 (252)342-8028 Photo credits: Barbara Garrity-Blake.

M U R R AY

N O X I N ERY FISH

INC.

1141 Nixon Fishery Road Edenton, North Carolina 27932 HACCP CERTIFIED www.nixonfishery.com 1-800-672-4756 • Fax: 252-221-4118 Phone: 252-221-4115

ATLANTIC SEAFOOD Wholesale Seafood Distributor Fresh & Frozen Hampstead, NC

910.270.3331 • 910.270.4411 north carolina fisheries association 45

NORTH CAROLINA FISHERIES ASSOCIATION, INC. P.O. Box 86 101 N. 5th Street, Morehead City, NC 28557 www.ncfish.org 252.726.NCFA (6232)

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TRED’n WATER BY TRED BARTA What’s the Big Deal?!!

y name is Tred Barta and I am a sport fisherman. I’m not a commercial fisherman. Being a sport fisherman, that means I fish for just that, sport! Some people might call me “recreational”. I expect department of Marine fisheries and all regulating bodies which deal with salt water fish to do their job, that’s why we pay them and we expect them to regulate on the basis that we have a renewable resource for the American public. Sport fishermen do not sell their fish for revenue or monetary gain, they fish for fun and some fish to bring dinner to for their immediate families and perhaps a couple of friends. Commercial fishermen also fish to eat, but they also do it for money. Fishing to a commercial fisherman is not only their primary way of earning a living, but a way of life for them. Personally, I couldn’t give a hoot whether you’re a sport fisherman or a commercial fisherman, it’s all the same to me. My Bible tells me that our Lord put all the critters on the earth that swim, crawl, jump, and fly to feed mankind. As always, the Bible is right. As we can see, that’s exactly what the human race does. The CCA, in my opinion, is a radical organization which has conned sport fishermen into believing that the commercial fishermen are bad people who destroy our bays and rape all of our resources. They are so bad that they have been doing their jobs for the past few hundred years and the fisheries for the most part are still very healthy, despite losses due to natural disasters. Not to mention that the American public, including sport fishermen, are eating commercial fishermen’s catches every day; crabs, shrimp, oysters, muscles, yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, flounder, fluke, etc… Just so the CCA understands, farmers farm the land and we eat their vegetables and grains, we make bread and cereal from their wheat, and let’s not forget the clothes that are made out of cotton. Commercial fishermen are farmers too, but they harvest their crops from the sea. Recently while in Islamorada Florida, I surveyed five of the largest popular restaurants in the keys, guess what? 92% of the fish were imported outside the US from countries who rape and pillage our oceans, countries who slaughter our pelagic fish in their breeding grounds. The providers of fresh fish to the Florida Keys and to most of Florida (where the CCA has just abolished all commercial fishing), in essence,

is responsible for doing more harm to sustain a renewable resource than all the commercial fishermen combined. In addition, they have removed a tradition from Florida that has been part of our land as long as man has been fishing to begin with. I have nothing against the CCA trying to protect our inshore waters and bays, but they have gone too far. The CCA is now trying to do the same crap in North Carolina that they have done in Florida. Isn’t that a great idea? Let’s go to Florida and eat “fresh” dolphin that was caught by Japanese long liners fishing off Africa that’s been frozen and is 30 days old. The restaurants there have the gall to call it “fresh”. If it wasn’t so wrong, it would almost be laughable. This article is a caution to all “sport” fishermen who sell your fish… You are now a commercial fisherman! What’s happening in Florida is that there are so few fish caught by commercial fishermen, that many of the charter boat fishermen and “sport” fishermen illegally sell their fish to restaurants while they continue speaking badly against commercial fishermen. It’s a travesty. One of the reasons that I have been so successful in fishing is because I have always been friends with commercial fishermen and sport fishermen alike. I don’t see the difference. Commercial fishermen love the ocean as much as or more than sport fishermen, they are on the water almost every day of their life. Without a renewable resource, THEY are out of business. Many would even argue that the resource is more important to them than to anyone! I want everyone reading this article to ask yourself one question: If the CCA and other radical organizations combined

Written by: Capt. Tred Barta

over the next 20 years to obliterate commercial fishing in United States of America, what do you think is going to happen? Sure, the inshore sportfishing in United States will be spectacular! However, a solid 80% of the world’s fish will be overfished and completely demolished. If this were the case, the only people left fishing commercially will be the Japanese, the Chinese, the Taiwanese, etc. and they do not care about a renewable resource whatsoever. Just look at the smog in Tokyo, and the mangroves in Vietnam and Thailand. I’m Captain Tred Barta and I say what has to be said as I see it - I’m a member of the CCA, the IGFA, and the RFA, but I warn all sportfishing conservation groups: If you disrespect a commercial fisherman or don’t understand his contribution to the United States of America, you’re completely ignorant and need to educate yourself. Until next tide, Captain Tred Barta

A MAN OR

A MINDSET?

TRED BARTA KNOWS NO LIMITS.

north carolina fisheries association 47