Gamefish Bill

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	Gamefish bill sponsor laments fate of his legislation July 29, 2012 at 1:15 pm Rep. Darrell McCormick (R-Yadkin), former co-chair of the state legislature’s 16-member Committee on Marine Resources, said his attempt to keep the gamefish-status bill (H 353) alive was the toughest legislative battle he’s ever faced, and he was taken aback by the lack of support of several key members of his own party. The bill died in committee during the 2012 short session that ended in July.

	Commercial fishermen continue to take most of North Carolina's saltwater bounty June 18, 2012 at 8:11 am North Carolina’s commercial and recreational fishermen saw harvests decline slightly in 2011, but for-profit fishing continued to lead all landings by weight and income by a large margin.

	Legislative committee puts merger talks on hold April 05, 2012 at 3:34 pm The state legislature’s Committee on Marine Resources met for a fourth and final time April 5 to study legislative proposals to present to the General Assembly when it meets again for its short session in May. However, the committee dropped a bombshell when the most important proposal on the meeting’s agenda – to merge the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission — was converted into another passive topic for future study.

	Legislature's Marine Resouces Committee's final meeting is April 5 April 02, 2012 at 11:50 am The N.C. General Assembly’s Committee on Marine Resources will hold its final open-to-the-public meeting April 5 at Raleigh in the Legislative Office Building, Room 643, 1 p.m.

	Gamefish bill apparently headed to House; no discussion at latest committee meeting March 01, 2012 at 4:56 pm No news was apparently good news at the latest meeting today (March 1) of the Legislative Research Commission Committee on Marine Fisheries. Discussion of the proposed gamefish-status bill, House Bill 353, was not on the agenda, and the bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Darrell McCormick (R-Yadkin), wasn’t even in attendance – he was reported to be under the weather, back home in Yadkinville – at the meeting in Raleigh.

	Fisheries group calls for total gill-net ban, cites legislative inaction on gamefish bill February 29, 2012 at 12:40 pm The Coastal Fisheries Reform Group declared last week its intent to seek a total gill-net ban in North Carolina coastal waters. The notice came in a news release that cited inaction on the part of the state legislature on a bill that would give gamefish status to spotted seatrout, striped bass and red drum, plus inaction on the part of the legislature’s Committee on Marine Resources. CFRG also cites inaction on the part of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission to approve measures to conserve and protect certain saltwater fish species.

	Angler: Stones Creek netting incident shows lack of respect, portends trouble February 22, 2012 at 1:34 pm Robert Patterson of Jacksonville is used to swimming against the tide. That’s evident because it doesn’t take long to find out he and his wife are huge fans of North Carolina State — but both of them are East Carolina graduates. Today, Patterson might be seen as a maverick for a larger cause, one that he’s worried may escalate with serious results: He isn’t sure if some commercial netters aren’t becoming more emboldened because they think their small segment of the net-for-profit business is going to disappear or if it’s just business as usual.

	McCormick to speak at Swansboro fundraiser for gamefish fight February 21, 2012 at 5:19 pm Representative Darrell McCormick, co-chair of the North Carolina Legislature’s Committee on Marine Resources, will be the keynote speaker during a Feb. 25 event to raise money for the fight to change the state’s saltwater fisheries management and better reflect the value of recreational fishing. The event will be held in Swansboro.

	Mismanagement of river herring warns of NCMFC's commercial bias, veteran rec angler says February 15, 2012 at 9:31 am As commercial and recreational saltwater fishing interests duke out their positions online and at meetings of the legislature’s Committee on Marine Resources, Ray Brown of Goldsboro remains one of the most eloquent speakers on behalf of coastal resources. Brown worries that the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission hasn’t learned from one of its most-egregious mistakes – allowing river herring to disappear – and may be on the road to repeating it with speckled trout.

	Coastal realtor says gamefish status key to coastal counties' survival February 06, 2012 at 1:27 pm The way Dean Phillips of Topsail Island sees it, fish availability is the horseshoe nail, the linchpin to the survival of most of North Carolina’s coastal counties, which is to say saltwater fish are crucial to the lives of a majority of coastal residents. “(In) my county, Pender, it’s just absolutely the thing that ties everything together,” said Phillips, who lives at Topsail Island and works in the family business, Surf City’s Landmark Real Estate.

	Healthy inshore fisheries will boost coastal and inland businesses, tackle shop owners say February 06, 2012 at 11:17 am While few people doubt the positive influence of healthy inshore saltwater fisheries on coastal businesses, not many stop to realize they also would benefit many inland businesses. There is also a pronounced tendency to underestimate the degree of the influence, especially to businesses well inland from the coast. Owners of several tackle shops were adamant that their economic viability should be included in discussions as legislators consider the option of granting gamefish status to speckled trout, red drum and striped bass.

	Experience is ‘sole reason hundreds of thousand go fishing every year,’ saltwater fisheries management review committee told February 03, 2012 at 4:13 pm The state legislature's Committee on Marine Fisheries met for the second time on Thursday (Feb. 2) this time to hear comments from stakeholders in the saltwater fishing industry. Speakers gave their testimonies about the troubled state of North Carolina’s saltwater resources, the management of those resources by a state agency (the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission) and how proposed changes will affect the state’s economy, their lives and the lives of coastal residents.