TOP: A fishing party angles for tuna in deep waters off the N.C. coast. 



BOTTOM: Recreational anglers can use only a rod and reel when fishing for billfish 



in the Atlantic. 



The federal permit is required for private 

 recreational boats that fish for Atlantic tunas, 

 swordfish, sharks, blue and white marlin, sailfish 

 and spearfish. It covers all passengers on board. 

 A separate HMS permit covers charter and 

 headboat customers. 



"In general, sportfishermen are very serious 

 about conservation," says Rogers. "Compliance 

 with the permit and reporting requirement has 

 been disappointingly low to date, so we are step- 

 ping up our outreach efforts to educate people 

 about the new requirements and how compli- 

 ance will ultimately help the recreational fishing 

 community." 



The new permit and reporting systems are 

 designed to strengthen certainty in fisheries data. 

 "The new systems will improve everyone's faith 

 in the data used to set catch limits and establish 

 other conservation needs," says Rogers. 



To improve communication with the 

 recreational fishery community, NOAA Fisher- 

 ies and North Carolina Sea Grant recently held 

 a workshop to discuss HMS fisheries permits, 

 quotas and outreach to the recreational fishing 

 community. Charter boat captains, billfish 

 tournament directors and recreational anglers 

 attended the workshop, to give NOAA Fisheries 

 an "on the dock" perspective. 



"NOAA Fisheries needs the cooperation 

 of the recreational fishing community to rebuild 

 highly migratory fisheries," says North Carolina 

 Sea Grant Extension Director Jack Thigpen. "We 

 can help to bring all sides together for an open 

 discussion." 



The landings data are used both for science 

 and fisheries management, according to Bill 

 Price, NOAA Fisheries' HMS national liaison 

 to billfish tournaments. "The ultimate goal is 

 improved stewardship of highly migratory spe- 

 cies," says Price. 



Bluefin Tuna 



Many recreational anglers are enticed by 

 the thrill of catching a giant tuna that can weigh 

 up to 1,000 pounds. 



"You either need a stand-up harness or 

 fighting chair when fishing for bluefin," says 

 Capt. Donnie Lee of the Diamond Girl Sport 

 Fishing Charter in Morehead City, N.C. "The 

 fight for a bluefin can go on from 20 minutes up 

 to more than four hours." 



Managing the tuna fisheries is also a great 

 challenge — and thus many quota decisions can 

 be controversial. For example, in 2003-2004, 

 NOAA Fisheries limited recreational bluefin 

 tuna fishing in North Carolina, Virginia, South 

 Carolina and Georgia to release only, a decision 

 that frustrated many anglers in those states. 



"The Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery poses 

 management challenges because of the un- 

 predictable migration pattern of the stock as it 

 travels south each year," says Rogers. "In some 

 years, the coastwide quota is reached before the 

 tuna swim into South Atlantic waters." 



Factors include ocean currents and weather 

 patterns. "Sometimes the fish are too far offshore 

 south of Virginia, forcing citizens of those states 

 to travel north to participate in the fishery," he 

 adds. 



'This year, in an effort to help distribute 

 fishing opportunities, NOAA Fisheries extended 

 the HMS season from the end of December to 

 the end of January." 



In the past decade, North Carolina in 

 particular has had an interest in the commercial 

 and recreational bluefin quotas. Since the mid- 

 1990s, giant bluefin tuna have concentrated near 

 shipwrecks off Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout 

 National Seashores during winter months. 



When quotas are available, the bluefin 



8 EARLY SUMMER 2004 



