COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Commercial Harvests Down Last Year 



Declining harvests of crabs and 

 shrimp, coupled with poor market conditions 

 after the Sept. 1 1 terrorist attacks, greatly 

 affected the catch and value for commercial 

 fisheries in 2001, according to the N.C. 

 Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). 



In 2001, commercial fishers landed 

 137.1 million pounds offish and shellfish at 

 North Carolina docks, with the catch valued 

 at $88 million. 



Total landings dropped 17.1 million 

 pounds from 2000 and 43.3 million from the 

 previous five-year average of 181.4 million 

 pounds. This makes the 2001 harvest the 

 second-lowest catch since 1973, when 130.4 

 million pounds of seafood were landed at 

 North Carolina ports, according to DMF. 



The reported dollar values of the top 



species were: blue crabs, $25 million; 

 shrimp, $1 1.9 million; southern flounder, 

 $5.6 million; hard clams, $5 million; and 

 Atlantic menhaden, $4.6 million. 



There was some good news on the 

 commercial seafood front. Peeler and soft 

 crab landings increased by 320,000 and 

 172,000 pounds respectively. Croaker 

 landings also increased to 12 million pounds, 

 a 2 million-pound gain over the 10 million- 

 pound average for the previous five years. 



Recreational anglers enjoyed their 

 largest catch in the past 13 years, with big 

 gains in dolphin, spot and bluefish landings. 

 About 23.9 million pounds of fish were 

 caught by recreational anglers in 2001, a 2.7 

 million-pound increase over the 21.2 million 

 pounds landed in 2000, according to DMF. 



-A.G. 



Fishery Resource Grants Awarded 



Satellites far above the earth may help 

 sea turtles and flounder gill-netters coexist in 

 the Pamlico Sound, thanks to a new research 

 project funded by the North Carolina Fishery 

 Resource Grant Program (FRG). 



Commercial fisher Bill Foster of Hatteras 

 is teaming with Andrew Read of the Duke 

 University Marine Lab to tag Kemp's Ridley, 

 green and loggerhead turtles with transmit- 

 ters. Satellites will track movements of the 

 turtles and record environmental data. The 

 information could help predict where nets can 

 be set to avoid harming turtles or unduly 

 restricting fisheries. 



FRG, which is funded by the N.C. 

 General Assembly and administered by North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, allows people involved in 

 fishing and seafood-related industries to try 

 out new ideas for protecting or enhancing 

 coastal resources. 



This year 23 projects from up and down 

 the coast were funded, for a total of more 



than $937,000. Ronald G. Hodson, North 

 Carolina Sea Grant director, says that 

 partnerships, such as that with Foster and 

 Read, benefit both sides. 



"I'm quite pleased that our fisherman/ 

 academic partnering model is working — 

 it includes roughly half of our projects this 

 year. These associations bring an understand- 

 ing of the science behind fishery management 

 to fishermen while giving scientists a real- 

 world perspective," Hodson says. 



This year's projects range from trapping 

 conch for a possible new fishery to repelling 

 bottlenose dolphins from fishing boats. Other 

 projects take seafood from the water to the 

 table through aquaculture studies and the 

 development of new seafood products. 



Proposals for 2003 will be due Dec. 2, 

 2002. For more information on the FRG 

 program, visit the Sea Grant Web site at 

 www.ncsu.edu/seagrant and follow the research 

 link or call 919/515-2454. -C.H. 



Sneads Ferry 



Shrimp 

 Festival Set 



Tor 32 years, the Sneads Ferry 

 Shrimp Festival has captured the spirit 

 of a North Carolina fishing village. This 

 year's festivities, set for Saturday, Aug. 

 10, is no exception. 



The day begins with a 1 a.m. 

 parade and ends with 9:30 p.m. 

 fireworks. In between are activities for 

 young and old to enjoy, including the 

 crowning of the 2002 Miss Shrimp; 

 rides and games; regional craft displays; 

 and civic, military and commercial 

 exhibits. Shrimp tops the food fare of 

 the day. 



In addition, the New River 

 Fisherman's Association will display fish 

 and shrimp nets. 



Two stages will be set for 

 entertainment throughout the day, 

 culminating in a street dance with beach 

 music at 8 p.m. 



For further information, go online 

 to www.sneadsferry.com/ . — P.S. 



COASTWATCH S 



