THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020458
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940602 LENGTH: RALEIGH
Commercial fishermen, some area lawmakers and others think it's time to develop a similar program for North Carolina watermen.
{REST} Rep. Vernon G. James, D-Pasquotank, who has spearheaded efforts in the past to increase funding for educational programs and technical help for state farmers, is leading the latest effort to establish an agency for fishermen.
Earlier this week, James, dean of northeastern North Carolina's legislative delegation, introduced a bill in the General Assembly calling for $180,000 for the state's first three fisheries extension agents - one for each region of the Division of Marine Fisheries.
``I think it would be an effort well worth trying,'' said James in an interview from his office in the legislature.
James has talked for the past year at fisheries meetings about such a program and at a meeting of state legislators and commercial fishermen earlier this month in Elizabeth City, James and the commercial fishermen discussed the proposal once again.
There, it was endorsed by Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., who was also attending the meeting.
Agriculture extension work first began in North Carolina in 1907 with the appointment of the first extension agent to work in Statesville to distribute information from a new agricultural and mechanical college in Raleigh, later N.C. State University. The agents were a way to disseminate any information developed by the institution that would help farmers in making their operations efficient and profitable.
Currently, about 1,900 employees work with the state's Cooperative Extension Service, formerly the Agriculture Extension Service, helping distribute the latest agriculture information to local farmers and horticultural information to other property owners as well as coordinate educational programs for young people and homemakers.
James said the three agents would work within the Division of Marine Fisheries as an advocate for fishermen - finding out what problems exist within the fishing community, distributing information about new rules that will affect the industry and teaching fishermen about new fishing practices that could help increase their catch and preserve the fisheries resource.
``Every county in North Carolina has an extension agent,'' James said. ``We need somebody to do the same thing for the Marine Fisheries Commission.''
Commercial fishermen support the proposal and say it's an idea whose time has come. ``This is welcome,'' said Jerry Schill, executive director of the N.C. Fishermen's Association, a fisheries trade group in New Bern. ``This is something that the industry supports.''
James' bill, which was introduced Monday, was referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
by CNB