TEDs in flounder nets are more 

 susceptible to clogging because the 

 nets are large and skim the ocean 

 floor. A flounder net can collect as 

 much as 20,000 pounds of dogfish 

 when they're schooling off the coast, 

 causing the TED and tailbag to rip off 

 from the weight. 



These complications, however, 

 are outweighed by the risk of flounder 

 fishermen inadvertently drowning en- 

 dangered sea turtles in their nets, 

 NMFS has concluded. The federal 

 agency mandated the use of TEDs 

 through an emergency rule under the 

 Endangered Species Act, which cov- 

 ers the sea turtles. Of the five species 

 found off the U.S. coast, all sea turtles 

 are listed as threatened or endangered 

 and are protected by federal law. 



According to fisheries service 

 technicians, two types of TEDs, the 

 Anthony Weedless and a structurally 

 strengthened version of the Super- 

 shooter, proved successful in exclud- 

 ing turtles and retaining flounder 

 during last year's summer flounder 

 bottom-trawl season. Both are 

 NMFS-approved devices. A third 

 TED, developed last season, is ex- 

 pected to be certified this year. 

 Formerly called the Conch TED, 

 the Flounder TED shoots turtles out 

 the top of the net and releases conchs 

 through a row of 10-inch holes in the 

 bottom. 



Sea Grant and NMFS hosted a 

 series of fall workshops to help com- 

 mercial fishermen come into compli- 

 ance with the federal TED require- 

 ments and know the best gear options. 



Barracuda: 

 A Risky Catch 



Anglers are more open-minded 

 about eating their catch as declining 

 stocks force them to wait longer be- 

 tween bites. They're trying new 

 dishes, sampling fish that swallowed 

 hooks baited for another species. But 

 fishermen bent on new culinary excur- 

 sions should take heed. Some fish, 



such as barracuda, can be dangerous 

 to their health. 



Barracuda can carry a toxin called 

 ciguatera that causes nausea, vomiting 

 and tingling or numbness in the lips, 

 tongue and mouth within hours of in- 

 gestion. In severe cases, it causes 

 hot-to-cold sensory reversal so that 

 cold objects feel hot and hot objects 

 feel cold. 



Joyce Taylor, Sea Grant's seafood 

 education specialist, cautions against 

 eating any amount of barracuda. Some 

 reports of ciguatera poisoning have 

 turned up in North Carolina in the last 

 five years, and there is no way to de- 

 tect the toxin in fish. It can't be 

 smelled, seen or tasted. And unlike 

 bacteria, it can't be killed by cooking 

 or freezing. 



"We can no longer safely say 

 that there aren't cases of ciguatera 

 in temperate waters such as North 

 Carolina's," Taylor says. "There is a 

 remote possibility of coming into con- 

 tact with the toxin, so we have to tell 

 people to use their own judgment." 



A spate of recent phone calls to 

 Sea Grant and the N.C. Division of 

 Marine Fisheries may indicate a 

 heightened concern among anglers 

 and seafood consumers about the risks 

 of ciguatera. But recreational landings 

 of barracuda — a tasty, flaky fish — 

 have remained fairly stable this year. 



Taylor tells callers that ciguatera 

 can inflict toxic symptoms within 

 three to five hours of ingestion. The 

 symptoms are usually short-lived, but 

 they vary according to the severity of 

 the case. The neurological symptoms 

 of severe ciguatera poisoning can re- 

 cur for years, she says. 



Barracuda are not inherently 

 toxic. The poison originates in micro- 

 plankton or dinoflagellates that are 

 eaten by small reef fish. These fish are 

 prey to larger fish, and in time the 

 larger fish can become toxic. Anglers 

 hook them and take them home or to 

 market. 



The tropical waters of the Virgin 



Islands and Guam are breeding 

 grounds for ciguatera. Miami, too, 

 has had problems that prompted the 

 city to ban the sale of barracuda. 

 From the South Atlantic, the fish 

 travel to North Carolina via the Gulf 

 Stream, where they can be caught 

 year-round, says Doug Mumford, a 

 fisheries technician for the division. 

 Barracuda venture as close as 5 to 10 

 miles offshore during warm months, 

 and sometimes their larvae use the 

 estuaries for nurseries. 



Some people think that it's safer 

 to eat the smaller barracuda — 2 to 3 

 feet and smaller — that are less 

 likely to have accumulated high lev- 

 els of the toxin, says Frank Schwartz, 

 a marine biologist for the University 

 of North Carolina Institute of Marine 

 Sciences. But he points out that the 

 ciguatera cases in North Carolina 

 involved smaller fish. 



N.C. Marine 

 Recreational 

 Fishing Forum 



As long as a valuable natural 

 resource is limited, there will be a 

 struggle over who can harvest it. 



This is especially true in the case 

 of commercial and recreational fish- 

 ermen who are jockeying for the 

 right to catch the limited fish stocks 

 off North Carolina's coast. 



Over the years, the debate has 

 been increasingly contentious, cir- 

 cling such issues as who is most en- 

 titled to these fish, who invests more 

 in the economy by fishing and who 

 most impacts the resource. 



The third annual N.C. Marine 

 Recreational Fishing Forum will 

 focus on finding common ground in 

 the conflict between these two 

 camps. 



For more information about 

 the upcoming forum, slated for Feb. 

 19, contact Jim Murray at Sea Grant 

 by calling 919/515-2454 or writing 

 Box 8605, N.C. State University, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695. 



COASTWATCH 23 



