be the end of the world if we don't do 

 something right now, even if it's 

 wrong," says Bill Foster, a commer- 

 cial fisherman from Hatteras and a 

 member of the N.C. Marine Fisheries 

 Commission. "Typically, we do not 

 have the data that will let us say 

 whether fishing is the real problem 

 instead of just natural cycles and 

 natural mortality." 



Not only are fishermen distrustful 

 of government data, they are also 

 reluctant to comment on changes they 

 notice on the water for fear of rash 

 reaction by managers. 



sharpen the numbers on actual 

 landings of fish. Under its provisions, 

 fishermen who sell their catch would 

 be required to present a card — 

 similar in appearance to a credit card 

 — to the buyer prior to each sale. A 

 similar system has been successful in 

 Florida. 



"If the license to sell is enacted 

 with a requirement to provide data on 

 a per catch basis, it will help tremen- 

 dously with the quality of the data," 

 says Street. 



And it may even help fishermen, 

 says Schill, if the bill is structured so 



mackerel. In quota fisheries, resource 

 managers place caps on the total 

 allowable catch of a given species. 



"Let's say I'm a recreational 

 fisherman, but as soon as I sell that 

 king mackerel, it counts against the 

 commercial man's quota," he says. 

 And once that commercial quota is 

 filled, says Schill, "the guy who 

 really depends on making his living 

 off the water can no longer sell king 

 mackerel." 



Another possible boon to more 

 accurate data collection could be a 

 saltwater sportfishing license, which 



A waterman gillnetsfor his catch. 



"Quite often, the interest will be 

 raised in a fishery when a population 

 is in a decline for whatever cause," 

 says Foster. "The next thing that 

 happens is restrictions are put into 

 effect. 



"The hardest part is trying to 

 separate out what is the real problem, 

 to separate perception from problems 

 and the rationalizations people use to 

 support their view," says Foster. 



A "license to sell" bill, scheduled 

 to be introduced in the N.C. General 

 Assembly this year, could help 



that the privilege to sell certain species 

 is limited to those fishermen who need 

 it to sustain their livelihood. 



"The way the Florida system is set 

 up is that you have to derive 25 

 percent of your income from commer- 

 cial fishing or $5,000 a year," says 

 Schill, adding that he approves of 

 similar qualifications for North 

 Carolina. 



Otherwise, he says, commercial 

 fishermen could be hurt by recre- 

 ational fishermen who sell their catch 

 from a quota fishery, such as king 



Scon D. Taylor 



has been proposed. Coastal recre- 

 ational anglers in North Carolina are 

 not currently required to purchase a 

 license to fish unless they are using 

 commercial gear, says Street. 



The idea of a recreational fishing 

 license does not appeal to many 

 tourism officials and to some in the 

 commercial fishing community, 

 many of whom also fish recreation- 

 ally. But Street says the information 

 from such licenses could provide 

 another valuable contribution to 

 fishing statistics. □ 



COASTWATCH 9 



