PUBLI
Fish Commission
C HEARING JAN. 10
May Create Clam Season
BY DOUG RliTTEK
Clam harvesting, presently a year-round occu
pation for some area fishermen, would be limited
to 10 months per year under a proposal before the
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.
The state panel is considering creating a spe
cial clam season and prohibiting fishermen from
harvesting the shellfish from April 1 through May
3 1 of each year.
"There's a lot of pressure on clam stocks, and
this would reduce the pressure somewhat," said
Rich Carpenter, southern district manager of the
N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
North Carolina commercial fishermen har
vested 722,235 pounds of clams in 1992. That
was a 36-percent decrease from 1991 and an 87
percent drop-off from 1990 when fishermen land
ed 1 .35 million pounds.
Besides helping clam stocks, Carpenter said
stopping the harvesting for two months each year
would give state officials time to conduct "clam
relay" programs like they do with oysters.
Fishermen would be paid to move clams from
polluted waters to clean waters, where they even
tually could be harvested.
The new clam season is one of several pro
posed rule changes that could affect local fisher
"There's a lot of pressure
on clam stocks, and this
would reduce the pressure
somewhat. " ? Rich Carpenter
men it it's approved by the state fisheries com
mission next month.
Fishermen will have the opportunity to ex
press their opinions on the rule changes at a pub
lic hearing Monday. Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. at UNC
Wilmington's Kenan Auditorium.
Among the other proposed revisions that
would affect clammers is one that would require
at least %.of an inch between the teeth on clam
rakes. The minimum size limit for clams in 1-inch
thick.
"It would let the undersized clams slip
through the teeth." Carpenter said. "It's trying to
discourage the harvest of undersized clams."
A third proposal affecting local shellfisher
men would allow the state fisheries director to is
sue proclamations reducing the minimum size
limit for oysters from 3 inches to 2'/ inches.
Carpenter said oysters in some parts of the
state never grow more than 2'A inches long.
Also, he said the director may choose to allow
the harvest of smaller oysters in areas where there
are high concentrations of oyster-killing parasites
such as Dermo. Older oysters are more likely to
die from Dermo than younger ones.
The Marine Fisheries Commission also has
proposed designating Davis Creek and Davis
Canal near Long Beach as permanent secondary
nursery areas, which would make those areas off
limits to trawlers.
Carpenter said the proposal is part of the com
mission's overall effort to reduce the pressure on
certain types of fish and marine life.
"This is one area that does contain a lot of
small fish," he said of Davis Creek. "The majority
of the year the shrimp are small in there."
Another proposal directly affecting shrimpers
would add one day to the existing weekend clo
sure. Shrimp trawling would be prohibited Friday
night through Sunday night, instead of Saturday
night through Sunday night.
The Marine Fisheries Commission is expect
ed to vote on the proposed rule changes during its
business meeting Jan. 14 and 15 at Shell Island
Resort at Wrightsville Beach.
Nine Lives Lost This Year On
County Roadways
BY SUSAN USHER
Fewer people died on Brunswick
County roadways in 1993 than in
1992.
Nine people were killed, several
in single-car accidents, compared to
19 deaths in 14 fatal accidents dur
ing the previous year. >
Paul Francis Valade. 27,
of Wilmington, became the
county's first highway fatal
ity on Jan. 23, when his car
ran off N.C. 133 south of
Belville and overturned.
Shallotte businessman
Sidney Edward Jones, 45,
of Ocean Isle Beach died in a single
car crash on Ocean Isle Beach Road
the night of Feb. 3. He was the own
er and operator of Jones Ford.
Nathan Douglas Dale, 22, of Del
co, died in a single-car crash on Mt.
Misery Rd. in Leland on March 12.
Less than a week later 19-year
old Vincent Edward Brown South
port was killed in a March 18 colli
sion that occurred north of
Southport near the intersection of
N.C. 133 and N.C. 87.
Several weeks later, Patty Dawn
Carpenter, 31, of Route 4, Leland,
was killed in a two-vehicle accident
on Village Road in Leland when her
husband attempted to
make a left turn in the path
of an approaching vehicle.
On July 7, Lyle Dean
Andrews, 25, of Coppers
ville, Mich., became the
only pedestrian killed on a
Brunswick County road
during 1993. He was walk
N.C. 130 near Ash when
ing on
struck by an automobile.
Fall brought three more highway
deaths.
On Oct. 13, Johnny Elmer Silver
III of Loris, S.C., was killed in a
near head-on collision with another
car just beyond the south end of the
U.S. 17 bypass of Shallotte.
Silver had apparently fallen
asleep at the wheel of his north
bound auto. Mary D. Stanley, 35, of
Shallotte, who was driving south on
U.S. 17, was pulling onto the right
shoulder in an attempt to avoid the
Silver vehicle when it struck nearly
head-on. Stanley was seriously in
jured and her son, Marvin Joshua, 2,
was also hurt.
On Nov. 4, Allie Marie Skipper
Wescott, 67, of Leland, drove east
on Zion Church Road and came to a
stop at its intersection with U.S. 17
before pulling out in the path of a
southbound vehicle. The oncoming
Ford van struck the driver's side of
the car, killing Wescott.
The ninth fatality came on Nov.
12 in a single-car crash on Project
Road near Ash. Marlin Dale Smith
Jr., 22, of Ash ran off the dirt road
on the right side. His truck over
turned in a deep ditch, landing on a
large drainage pipe.
Truck Skidded On Icy Road
Tl VI o ? ? 1 ? *"* * **"*
The N.C. Highway Patrol office
reported a quiet holiday week on
Brunswick County roads, with offi
cers investigating mainly "fender
benders," Trooper T.D. Pearce said
Tuesday.
Ice and snow on the roadway con
tributed to a single-vehicle accident
near Sandy Creek Thursday morning.
Charles Graham Eddins, 51, of
Leland was traveling west on Mal
mo Loop Road about 6:55 a.m.
when his 1988 Dodge pickup skid
ded out of control. The truck ran off
the right shoulder and overturned in
a ditch.
Eddins sustained minor injuries
but was not transported for treat
ment, said Pearce.
Property damage to the truck was
estimated at $4,500.
No charges were filed.
Is Town's Hottest Issue
was its usual quiet self in 1993.
Board member Tonya Rohhins re
signed in May, saying she didn't
have time to serve both the town and
the customers at her restaurant.
Tony Varnum was appointed to
serve the remainder of the term,
which expires in 1995.
That was the only change on the
Varnamtown board this year. In
November, voters re-elected incum
bent aldermen Ada McDonald and
Ennis Swain and Mayor Judy
Galloway.
Community Boat Ramp
rur i/-i ?*? ? ? - '
BY DOUG RUTTER
Down the road in Varnamtown,
the hottest issue of 1993 was im
provement of the community boat
ramp on Lockwood Folly
River.
After receiving petitions
for and against the project,
aldermen accepted a project
bid in December. Varnum s
Docks & Bulkheads is ex
pected to begin work shortly
after the new year.
The cost of $19,500 will be cov
ered by the N.C. Wildlife Resources
Commission, which had agreed to
spend up to $25,000 to rebuild the
public ramp and improve parking
and access.
A 16-by-72-foot con
crete ramp will replace a
launch that has deteriorat
ed over the years and
caused damage to some
boats. The town plans to
lease a parking area near
by to accommodate the
public.
Other than the new ramp and a
controversial trailer park ordinance
adopted last spring, Varnamtown
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Bus. Hwy. 17, Shallotte,
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754-7177
-2 miles north of Shallotte on Hwy. 17
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