Monday, May 08, 2006

NC MFC to Discuss Withdrawal from ASMFC

Commercial fishermen have been getting increasingly frustrated with harvest restrictions and increasing regulations over the last few years and that frustration came to a boil at the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission's meeting in Wilmington last week. Several commercial fishermen attacked the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's management plans and harvest restrictions and a measure was approved to have an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not North Carolina should withdraw from the ASMFC. The ASMFC develops fisheries management plans for species that migrate up and down the east coast since no single state could effectively create management plans without the input and assistance from neighboring states. Although the ASFMC was founded in 1942, state membership was voluntary until 1993 when Congress passed the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act. While we certainly understand that commercial fishermen have been struggling, legislation created by the ASMFC and NC MFC have always been designed to help protect our fisheries for future generations. If North Carolina withdrew, other states would most likely follow suit and our fisheries would suffer. More on the withdrawal discussion is available from the Outer Banks Sentinel.

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