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Pamlico Sound to Close to Large-Mesh Gill Net Fishing to
Protect Sea Turtles
MOREHEAD CITY – To protect sea turtles, Pamlico
Sound will close to all large-mesh gill net fishing on Wed., Sept. 26.
The Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area opened Sept. 15,
and during the first week the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has documented
four interactions between gill nets and sea turtles in these waters. These
interactions included one dead and one live endangered Kemp’s ridley sea
turtles.
It is uncertain if the waters will reopen this fall. The
decision will depend on the occurrence of sea turtles in the area.
By federal rule, all of Pamlico
Sound closes to large-mesh gill net fishing from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 each
year. The closure began in 1999 after several instances of fishery interactions
with threatened and endangered sea turtles.
However, since 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service has allowed a highly-monitored, large-mesh gill net fishery during the closure in limited areas of the sound under a series of incidental take permits. These permits, authorized under Section 10 of the federal Endangered Species Act, allow for limited takes of threatened or endangered species in an otherwise lawful activity.
North Carolina’s latest incidental take permit for the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area expired Dec. 31, 2010. However, the National Marine Fisheries Service has agreed to allow this fishery to continue while the state applies for an incidental take permit to cover set gill nets statewide. An application for this permit, submitted in May 2010, is still under review.
However, since 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service has allowed a highly-monitored, large-mesh gill net fishery during the closure in limited areas of the sound under a series of incidental take permits. These permits, authorized under Section 10 of the federal Endangered Species Act, allow for limited takes of threatened or endangered species in an otherwise lawful activity.
North Carolina’s latest incidental take permit for the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area expired Dec. 31, 2010. However, the National Marine Fisheries Service has agreed to allow this fishery to continue while the state applies for an incidental take permit to cover set gill nets statewide. An application for this permit, submitted in May 2010, is still under review.
Specific regulations pertaining
to the closure can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamation-m-42-2012.
3 comments:
This seems like a good move to protect endangered turtles. How will this affect the fishing community though and are their better alternatives to the large mesh nets. I believe it's more important to protect the turtles but I'm just interested in the economical impact.
I am not familiar with the different types of fishing nets used in the area; however,are these large-mesh gill nets able to be equipped with Turtle Excluder Devices?
From what I understand, NOAA has been phasing in TED requirements but their use is hard to enforce. Though it is an initial expense to purchase and install TEDs, I was also under the impression that they are economically feasible to most fishermen. Therefore, they create a win-win situation where the turtles are protected and the fishermen do not run the risk of violating the Endangered Species Act with accidental takings.
Again, I am not sure if TEDs work with the mentioned type of nets, but if they did and their use could be enforced, couldn't that result in the area being opened more often?
---Laura Stein
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