"A real bag 



of worms for the 



next couple of years. 



Almost to a man fishermen, processors, officials 

 agree that something like extended jurisdiction is 

 needed. But, as Norm Angel, one of the state's 

 representatives on the South Atlantic Regional 

 Council, puts it, "It's going to be a real bag of 

 worms for the next couple of years." 



The Act states that in the past "International 

 fishery agreements have not been effective in pre- 

 venting or terminating the overfishing of these 

 valuable fishery resources. . . ." 



Fishermen tell of foreign violations they've seen. 

 Kenny Daniels of Wanchese remembers a Spanish 

 vessel in Norfolk which was carrying 2 to 3,000 

 pounds of illegal lobsters. Says Daniels, "A boat 

 could come in, load up and be gone before anyone 

 knew they had 'em." 



Will the 200-mile bill be any different from pre- 

 vious treaties? Mike Street of the Division of Ma- 

 rine Fisheries reports that most interested nations 

 are negotiating permits under the new legislation. 

 If a nation violates the Act, the Secretaries of 

 Commerce and State are authorized to bar U.S. 

 sales of the nation's fishery imports. 



As for the actual police work required to enforce 

 the Act, Ken Harris at the National Marine Fish- 

 eries Service, one of the two enforcing agencies, 

 says "Enforcement works a little better all the 

 time . . . We've got quite a ways to go and we're 

 getting there." Since 1967, 80 foreign vessels have 

 been seized and fines of over $10.7 million have 

 been collected. 



Of course, one of the crucial points in enforcing 

 the Act is having something to enforce. Some ob- 

 servers are concerned that Optimum Sustainable 

 Yield — with its biological, social, economic, and 

 ecological considerations— will be a slippery thing 

 to pin down. Jim Sykes, of the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service which is to provide some of the 

 technical backup for regional councils, says the 

 capability is there to answer biological questions. 



"We are standing by as biologists to do the 

 research," he says. But "a lot of the data are not 

 there." Some species are well understood, but 

 others are not and no one is quite sure how infor- 

 mation on age, growth, migration and so on will 

 be collected. 



Brian Rothchild, who heads up the national 

 office of extended jurisdiction, says he expects uni- 



Harry Fulcher, Atlantic — Oh my God, 

 there's no comparison. They've got enor- 

 mous vessels. . . Overall, all over the coun- 

 try, I think (the 200-mile limit) will be a 

 big help. Always, with something like this 

 you're going to have some areas that are 

 more affected than others. 



versities and federal and state laboratories will be 

 advising the regional councils on specific stocks. 

 And, at any rate, he adds, his office will provide 

 what assistance the councils need. The councils 

 will "not be left hanging on assessment." 



And that leads to the larger question of who's 

 minding the store. Some officials fear federal offi- 

 cials will take over, others wonder if the councils 

 don't have just enough rope to hang themselves. 



(See "A step," page six) 



The University of North Carolina Sea Grant 

 College Newsletter is published monthly by the 

 University of North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Program, 1235 Burlington Laboratories, Yarbor- 

 ough Drive, North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607. Vol. 3, No. 10, October, 1976. 

 Dr. B. J. Copeland, director. Written and edited 

 by Karen Jurgensen and Johanna Seltz. Second- 

 class postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 27611. 



A step down the road 



(Continued from page five) 



Still others are concerned about the Secretary of 

 Commerce's role in having final approval of man- 

 agement plans. "It's almost a veto power," says 

 Ed McCoy, a member of the South Atlantic Re- 

 gional Council. "That is one of the things we don't 

 like." 



Rothchild says the role of the national office is 

 to get the Act off the ground and then let the coun- 

 cils draw up plans and hold hearings. The councils 

 have, he says, "a lot of leeway in that manage- 

 ment." 



Another unknown is exactly what species will 

 be left for individual state management. SaysMc- 

 Coy "We don't know what species will come under 

 the Act." Depending on the interpretation of the 

 law, McCoy says certain species, such as shrimp 

 and menhaden, could ultimately be included in 

 extended jurisdiction. Those species which should 

 definitely not come under the Act, McCoy says, 

 include oysters, bay scallops and other species cen- 

 tered primarily within the state's three mile juris- 

 diction. 



Apart from limiting foreign vessels and their 

 catches, how is extended jurisdiction likely to affect 

 North Carolina fishermen? 



It's really too early to say. Questions have been 

 raised about the effect of possible increased quanti- 

 ties of fish in the marketplace and about the effect 

 of controls imposed by regional councils on domes- 

 tic fishing (some fishermen are arguing for mesh 

 size limits). But that's farther down the road. 



The South Atlantic Regional Council will start 

 down that road at its first meeting in October. 



We've tried here to scratch the surface 

 of extended jurisdiction, to give readers a 

 general overview. We'll all be hearing more 

 about the 200-mile limit in coming months. 



At Sea Grant, we would like to do what 

 we can to keep people informed. So, if you 

 have questions about the 200-mile limit, 

 drop us a line at UNC Sea Grant, Box 5001, 

 Raleigh, N. C. 27607. 



Sea Grant's role 



So what's Sea Grant doing to help? 



Sea Grant programs around the country have 

 been called upon by the Commerce Department's 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

 to examine : 



1) socio-economic questions related to the 200- 

 mile bill; 



2) legal problems of jurisdiction in the individ- 

 ual states' territorial (3-mile) seas; 



3) communications which involve the fishing 

 community ; 



4) educational activities in fisheries manage- 

 ment for extended jurisdiction. 



Here at home, UNC Sea Grant is trying to de- 

 velop socio-economic research capabilities to mesh 

 with advisory activities. Then too, advisory agents 

 and seafood specialists will continue to work with 

 fishermen and seafood dealers on new, improved 

 equipment and products. 



University of North Carolina 

 Sea Grant College Program 

 1235 Burlington Laboratories 

 North Carolina State University 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607 



Second-class postage paid at Raleigh, 



