C. fishermen 



Last year, an average of more than 500 foreign 

 fishing vessels and support ships was sighted each 

 month operating within 200 miles of the U.S. coast. 

 On the East coast, the greatest fishing pressure 

 has been off New England. But up to 200 vessels 

 were sighted here off Oregon Inlet during the late 

 1960s and up until about 1972 when the river her- 

 ring began to decline. 



There have been concerns that foreign vessels 

 would put more pressure on southeastern fisheries 

 as those to the north were depleted. Then too, North 

 Carolina wholesalers and fishermen looking ahead 

 to a growing population expect the day will come 

 when Americans, too, will have to learn to eat 

 species such as squid which Spanish vessels now 

 take off North Carolina's coast by the ton. 



This year, foreign fishing off North Carolina is 

 picking up. Spanish trawlers are taking squid and 

 incidental butterfish. Japanese longliners are get- 

 ting tuna and incidental swordfish and marlin. 

 And, there is some activity in the remaining river 

 herring, in lobsters, scup, sea bass, mackeral and 

 others. 



In general, though, "the situation over the past 

 three or four years has improved," says Ed McCoy, 

 head of North Carolina's Division of Marine Fish- 

 eries and one of the state's representatives on the 

 South Atlantic Regional Council which will ad- 

 minister extended jurisdiction for this area. "We've 

 been able to reduce generally the foreign take" 

 through bilateral agreements with various nations 

 and improved enforcement methods. But, McCoy 

 says, the 200-mile limit is needed to give the U.S. 

 complete control of all species in our waters. For 

 North Carolina, that will mean a better chance for 

 river herring to recover and an opportunity to limit 

 foreign fishing here. 



"The reaction is that there won't be any more 

 foreign fishing. This isn't the case. We hope in the 

 long term we can develop plans that will benefit 

 the total fishery," McCoy says. The difference is 

 that American fishermen will get first crack at a 

 catch and only the predicted excess (where there is 

 one) will be allotted to foreigners. 



Extended jurisdiction is viewed in many states 

 as the first step on the road to recovery for the 

 fishing industry. For Macon Meekins and other 

 fiver herring fishermen, that may be so for North 

 Carolina as well. But also, the bill gives the state a 

 chance to call a halt to things before they reach the 

 critical point as they have elsewhere. 



Gus Saunders, Wanchese — Foreign ves- 

 sels off New England were in school after 

 school. This summer there were 80 or 90 

 fleets. 



Kenny Daniels, Wanchese — Our 1 

 being caught up and we're having to go to 

 something else. I think we'll have to go to 

 the things they're (foreign vessels) catch- 

 ing. 



The fishery 

 management 

 and conservation 

 act: 



—establishes as of March 1, 1977, a 200-mile 

 conservation zone which begins where states' three 

 mile territorial waters end. Foreign fishing vessels 

 will be required to obtain permits to enter the 

 zone. 



— covers 1) all fish within the zone, 2) all ana- 

 dromous species (except highly migratory species 

 such as tuna) throughout the migratory range of 

 each species beyond the conservation zone, and 3) 

 all Continental Shelf fishery resources beyond the 

 conservation zone. 



— authorizes some preliminary plans to be drawn 

 up by federal agencies before March, 1977. Pre- 

 liminary fisheries management plans affecting 

 North Carolina include, among other species, bill- 

 fish, pelagic sharks, river herring, shad, striped 

 bass, spots, croakers, bluefish, scup, sea bass and 

 wahoos. These preliminary plans are expected to 

 form the basis of final management plans. 



— sets up eight regional councils. North Caro- 

 lina's representatives on the South Atlantic Re- 

 gional Council (13 voting members from N.C., 

 S.C., Ga., Fla.) are Ed McCoy, Division of Marine 

 Fisheries; Bruce Lentz, N.C. Department of Ad- 

 ministration; Norm Angel, N.C. Fishermen's 

 Association. 



— calls on the councils to submit and maintain 

 management plans consistent with national stan- 

 dards for every fishery in the council's geographic 

 area. Final approval of the plans is made by the 

 Secretary of Commerce. If a council is unable to 

 come up with an approved plan, the secretary can 

 draw up his own, somewhat limited, plan. 



— says fishery management plans must include; 

 an assessment of both maximum sustainable yield 

 (based on biological factors) and optimum sustain- 

 able yield (based on social, economic, ecological 

 and biological factors) for each fishery; the actual 

 proportion of optimum yield that can't be har- 

 vested by U.S. fishermen and can be made avail- 

 able to foreign fleets; consideration of recreational 

 interests in a fishery; and the nature and extent of 

 Indian treaty rights relative to a fishery. 



— gives the councils discretionary power: a fish- 



ery plan may 1) require permits and payments of 

 fees for domestic fishermen, 2) designate areas 

 where no domestic fishing can take place, or where 

 only certain gear or types of vessels will be allowed ; 

 3) establish a limited entry system to achieve 

 optimum yield provided consideration is given to 

 such things as historical fishing practices, the 

 economics of the fishery, and the cultural and 

 sociological ramifications of a limited entry system. 



— sets national standards for the plans requiring 

 that: management measures prevent overfishing; 

 they be based on the best scientific information 

 available ; an individual stock be managed through- 

 out its range as much as possible. Conservation 

 and management measures are not allowed to dis- 

 criminate between residents of different states. In 

 addition, if an allocation plan becomes necessary, 

 it is to be applied equally to all fishermen and not 

 designed to give special privileges to any one indi- 

 vidual or corporation. 



— requires the councils to hold public hearings 

 on the management plans. 



— authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to issue 

 permits to foreign vessels seeking to enter the 200- 

 mile conservation zone. Comments on the applica- 

 tions are to be submitted by the appropriate re- 

 gional council. Any citizen may submit to the 

 council his or her comments about permit applica- 

 tions and the council must consider those com- 

 ments in formulating its own comments for the 

 Secretary. 



— authorizes and funds the Coast Guard and the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to 

 enforce the permit system within the 200-mile 

 zone. Existing bilateral agreements are currently 

 enforced by the Coast Guard and NMFS. Surveil- 

 lance flights and boarding are expected to continue 

 to be the major enforcement for the time being. 



