ANOTHER NEW "LOOP HOLE" FOR SHRIMPING!
Fin fish Excluders To Be
Required In Shrimp Nets
BY DOUG RUTTER
Brunswick County shrimpers will have to cut
small holes in their nets starting next month so
fish can escapc unharmed.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will
require finfish excluder devices in shrimp trawl
laiibags in all coasial waiers effective Oct. 2.
The rules, issued in a proclamation in early
August, arc intended to cut down on the amount
of spots, croaker and other fish caught by shrimp
boats.
"The intent is to reduce the catch of little fish
that can't be sold," said David Taylor, Marine
Fisheries district manager in Morehead City.
Finfish excluders arc sewn into nets to create
small openings where fish can escapc. Holes arc
positioned so the weak-swimming shrimp can't
get out
Jim Bahcn, marine advisory agent with UNC
Sea Grant at Kure Bcach, said he thinks the rule
will benefit commercial shrimpers in the long run.
"For once, 1 think this is one thing that won't
hurt the fishermen," he said. "Even though this is
a rule, it's probably for the good."
Bahcn said operators of small shrimp boats
that work inshore waters will be affected most by
the requirement
They are the only shrimpers who haven't been
required to pull the larger and more expensive
turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets.
Bahcn, who has been working with finfish ex
"For once , I think this
is one thing that won't
hurt the fishermen. . "
? Jim Bahen,UNC Sea Grant
Marine Advisory Agent
cludcr devices (FEDs) since last year, said tests
on shrimp boats have proven successful.
Bycatch, which is anything caught other than
the targeted specie?, has been cut 35 percent to 45
percent with the use of FEDs.
"All indications are they seem to be working
pretty good," Bahen said. "We're not losing any
shrimp if they're used correctly."
Taylor said fishermen who have used the ex
cluders in New Kiver and Core Sound nave seen
bycatch reduced 40 to 60 percent.
"A lot of people arc voluntarily trying it, and
they wouldn't go back to a net without it," he
said.
Bahen said there are several advantages to us
ing finfish excluders. By allowing fish to swim
free, shrimpers can tow for longer periods of
time.
"It also gives them a better product," he said.
"When you get a bunch of fish in the tailbag it
can squash the shrimp."
Bahen said the finfish excluders also reduce
culling time for the shrimpers because they won't
have as many fish to sort through.
The stainless steel devices are inexpensive,
costing about S10 in most net shops and machine
snops.
"It was not a real popular thing when it came
out," Bahen said of the FED rules. "Some of the
guys who have used them arc saying they work."
Although bycatch has become one of the
biggest issues in fishing. North Carolina is the
first state to do something aimed at reducing it.
The state hasn't stipulated where finfish ex
cluders should be located in taiibags ui how big
they must be. The only requirement is that they be
"functional."
Taylor said officials wanted to give fishermen
the freedom to experiment with the excluders and
design them so they work best in their area.
Gear requirements are nothing new to
shrimpers, most of whom have been pulling turtle
excluders in offshore waters for two years.
Current rules require shrimp boats to pull
TF.Ds year-round in the ocean. Inshore, shrimpers
must lift their nets after 75 minutes of towing.
Taylor said the use of finfish excluders should
be good public relations for shrimpers, who are
often blamed for problems in the fishing industry.
Jury Savs Fisherman Who Towed Boat Not Liable
BY ERIC CARLSON
A Brunswick County Superior
Court jury has determined that a
Shallotte man who towed an aban
doned sportfishing boat back to
shore during a fishing tournament
was not liable for damages caused to
the vessel.
The jury also refused to award
Thomas Jerry Ryan of Raeford any
damages from the Bunnlevel dealer
who sold him the boat, despite its
conclusion that the salesman was
negligent in representing the craft as
suitable for offshore fishing.
Ryan said in his suit that on Oct.
1, 1987, he was competing in the
U.S. Open King Mackerel Tourn
ament at South port when his boat
began taking on water about four
miles off Lockwood Folly Inlet. At
the same lime, the bilge pump, radio
and chart recorder also failed.
News accounts at the time said
that on the first day of the tourna
ment, when the incident occurred,
there were 25-knot winds and 4-to
5-foot seas
The boat eventually capsized,
throwing Ryan and a passenger into
the water, the suit said. Ryan and his
passenger, Ed Binson of Long
Beach, were picked up by another
boat that was competing in the tour
nament.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel at
tempted to recover the Ryan's boat,
but was forced to return to shore with
mechanical problems, the suit said.
Harry Thomas Wilkes of Brick
Landing, who also was competing in
the tournament, tied onto the aban
doned boat and attempted to tow it
ashore. He refused a Coast Guard
request to turn the boat over and
continued towing it toward Holden
Beach, the suit alleged.
Due to a low tide in the inlet, the
suit said Wilkes negotiated with a
shrimp trawler to tow the boat into
the Intracoastal Waterway. Arriving
in Holden Beach at about 11 p.m.,
Wilkes allegedly tied the boat to the
Holden Beach Bridge.
The suit claims Wilkes "was care
less and negligent in his towing of
the plaintiffs boat and that as a re
sult, damages were incurred to the
boat including, but not limited to,
loss of equipment, holes in the bow
of the boat and loss of the console
and attached equipment."
Ryan claimed in his suit that Earl
William Black of Rockhill Auto
Marine in Bunnlevel was negligent
in selling him the 22-foot Harbor
Open Offers Big Bucks
For Big King Mackerel
Hundreds of sportfishermen will
be aiming for big fish and big bucks
next weekend in the 14th annual
U.S. Open King Mackerel Tourn
ament at Southport.
Brunswick County's largest and
most lucrative fishing tournament
will be held Thursday through Sun
day, Oct. 1-4.
The event lured more than 400
boats to the area last October and
kicks off a big month of weekend
celebrations in Brunswick County.
David Stallings of Raleigh was
the 1991 winner with a king weigh
ing 42.05 pounds. Stallings and his
crew took home a check for
S43.220.
This year's winner will once
again be in line for a lot of cash. The
Loun lament's gfoTiu prize for uiC
largest fish is $25,000.
But that total can grow if a fisher
man feels lucky and enters the tour
nament within a tournament for
SI 00. The regular tournament entry
fee is S240.
Even anglers who don't bring in
the largest king can go home happy.
Other prizes are $10,000 for second
place, $5,000 for third and $2,500
for fourth.
The top 10 finishers will receive
at least $1 ,000 each. The event pays
$500 or more for the top 25 entries
and at least $250 to the top 50
places.
U.S. Open fishermen also have a
shot at daily aggregate weight
awards and special cash prizes of
fered by local companies and boat
ing manufacturers.
Registration for the tournament
will be Thursday, Oct. 1, from 10
a.m. until midnight at Southport
Marina, which is tournament head
quarters.
Organizational meetings for boat
captains will be held Thursday at 5
p.m. and 7 p.m. at the marina. All
captains should attend one of the
meetings so they can be made aware
of any last-minute rule changes.
The actual fishing competition
takes place next Friday and Saturday
from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
Fishermen must be in line by 5:30
p.m. to weigh in any fish they want
to enter.
The U.S. Open fish fry, entertain
ment and awards ceremony will be
held Sunday, Oct 4, starting at 1
p.m. at the marina.
For more information on the U.S.
Open King Mackerel Tournament,
call the Southport-Oak Island
Chamber of Commerce at 919-457
6964.
/O Recipient of
JImM'y, 1ST place
\j0 food
M v ^ m division
y Jlyji , at the 1992 . ^^? -
BLUE CRABSf
FESTIVAL
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AWARD WINNINQ CRAB CAKES CHESAPEAKE
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In the bar or on side deck
| FREE WINGS ? 250 Oysters |
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RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED (803) 249-2624
Craft boat equipped with twin 140
horscpower outboard motors. The
suit claims the boat was rated only
for 250 total horsepower.
The suit also claimed that the boat
was not actually new and that equip
ment had been improperly installed
on the vessel. It asked $28,483 in
damages for replacement of the boat.
But during the latest session of
civil superior court, the jury decided
Sept. 1 1 that it was Ryan's own neg
ligence that caused the boat to sink
and that Wilkes was not to blame for
damages resulting while towing it to
shore.
The jury found Black negligent in
representing that the boat "was fit
for use as an ocean sport Fishing
boat" and agreed that the negligence
contributed to the boat's sinking, but
refused to award any damages.
SWF mOTO BY SUSAN USHE*
Pier Fishing Is Abundant Again
Vern James of Tabor City hooked this whiting from the Sunset
Beach Fishing Pier Saturday morning. Lots of anglers had lines in
the wat?r, including C.C. Graham of Galax, Va., who said blues
had been hitting the morning before.
O'Neil
? Fill Dirt
? Road Construction
? Drainage and iiimra|s
? Sap tic Tuk Installation
II BuBtfng Sits Preparation
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STAFF FHOTO BY DOUG ?UTTW
JIM BAHEN shows one type of finfish excluder device designed to
reduce bycatch in shrimp nets.
In weekend king tourney
Long Beach Man Wins $3,000
Ray Harrelson of Long Beach
picked up 53,000 over the weekend
as a daily prize winner in the
Wrightsvillc Beach King Mackerel
Tournament.
Harrelson weighed in the second
largest king on the first day of the
tournament Friday. He caught a
31.40-pound king aboard his boat
Fan-Ta-Sea.
Other local winners included
Dick Aldridge and Earl Clewis, both
of Southport, and Chip Marce of
Shallotte.
Aldridge, fishing on the Rod
Bender, won S750 for a 26.30
pound king. Clewis earned $650 for
a fish weighing 24.50 pounds.
Marce won S500 for weighing in
the largest king caught on a Maco
boat. Marce landed a 22.35-pound
king aboard the Reel Chase.
The overall tournament winner
was Terry Grantham of Florence,
S.C., with a 40.25-pound king
caught off Lockwood Folly.
Grantham won $34,445 as captain
of My Three Sons. The angler was
Ron Renslen of Murrclls Inlet, S.C.
Second-place honors and $18,667
went to Harvey Carter of Winston
Salem for a 35.55-pound king
caught on the Team Ranger boat.
Brian Henry of Gaslonia, a past
winner of the South Brunswick
Islands King Classic, took third at
Wrightsville Beach. The Mr. Magoo
crew won S 10,778 for a king mack
erel weighing 35.50 pounds.
Tournament spokesman Teresa
McLamb said 362 boats entered the
event, which was affected by foul
i
WCdUlU I UUdJf.
"The first day the weather was
not good," she said. "It was raining,
a lot of wind."
McLamb said fishermen battled
4-foot swells all day before the
weather cleared up for the second
day Saturday.
"We Relieve c*t fcu*uCie&. ..
Mark A. Lizak, M.D.
Ear, Nose & Throat ? Medical /Surgical care
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