87 



and, thereby, reduces the amount of time spent picking undersized fish that 

 can't be marketed. 



The implementation of mesh size restrictions on the sink net fishery must 

 take into consideration that the sink net fleet on the Outer Banks doesn't 

 target weakfish exclusively. The sink net fleet is a versatile fishery 

 and, v^en conditions warrant, some of the fleet fish for other species, such 

 as bluefish, dogfish, sea mullet, spot and croaker. The versatility of the 

 sink net fleet has, in the past, assured its continuation, but that same 

 versatility also means that the fleet will be affected by management plans 

 for many species. 



Fishermen on the Outer Banks indicate that the size of weakfish they are 

 seeing are larger than in the past few years. Jeff Ross of the NC DMF 

 explained that the DMF samples at least four catches of weakfish landed by 

 the Outer Banks sink net fleet every week but that the data on the 1992-93 

 season will not be compiled and analyzed until the fall of 1993. Ross felt 

 that the observations of the fishermen could well be true but he also 

 cautioned that several years of data indicating larger sizes are necessary 

 to indicate a trend, (telephone conversation, 3-03-93) 



SEASON AND AREA CLOSURES FOR THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES 



Closures are used to effect a reduction in effort which, in turn, reduces 

 the rate of fishing mortality on fully recruited ages. 



The sink net fleet on the Outer Banks has, in effect, reduced effort in 

 the weakfish fishery without the imposition of closures. This voluntary 

 reduction in effort evolved when some crews decided not to target weakfish and 

 determined that they would target dogfish, bluefish, king mackerel or 

 tuna, among others. 



In 1991, a market for dogfish was established on the Outer Banks for the 

 first time. Prior to that time, dogfish were considered mainly a nuisance. 

 However, when a market was established to export dogfish to England, some 

 crews chose to target dogfish, which are extremely abundant and which 

 cotmiand a consistent price. The development of this market, for a previously 

 under-utilized species, guarantees a reduction in effort for weakfish from the 

 levels of the late 1980s. 



Jeff Ross of the NC DMF reported that the Outer Banks sink net fleet reduced 

 effort on weakfish by 25% between the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons and nearly 

 65% during the 1991-92 fishing season. (Ross, 1992) (Oden & Whitaker, 1993) 



Seasonal or area closures will impose hardships on the Outer Banks sink net 

 fleet. The fleet consists of small vessels with, typically, a two man 

 crew. Many of these boats are not large enough to venture far out to sea 

 in search of off-shore species. Many of these boats are not fast enough 

 to safely travel far distances in an area where weather conditions change 

 abruptly. 



