THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 20, 1995 TAG: 9507200388
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Relief for some crabbers frustrated by licensing red tape may be as close as a special provision in an appropriations bill, according to a spokesman for Senate leader Marc Basnight.
Basnight's office in Raleigh released Wednesday the wording of a measure intended to waive vessel licensing requirements for fishermen who use a small number of crab pots to catch crabs for their own consumption.
The measure allows the state Marine Fisheries Commission, which oversees management of the state's coastal fishing industry, to adopt a temporary rule that would let fishermen use up to three crab pots to catch crabs for their own use without obtaining a vessel license.
The requirement for a vessel license would not be waived if the vessel owner holds another type of commercial fishing license or if a fisherman sells any of the crabs caught in the crab pots.
The state's existing commercial license structure is under review by a committee studying changes in coastal fisheries management.
That committee is scheduled to report its findings - which likely will include an overhaul of the commercial fishing license structure - to the General Assembly in May 1996, but a spokesman said Basnight did not want to wait until then to address the difficulties faced by private crab fishermen.
``We don't want to create anything in a permanent way that will interfere in the Moratorium Steering Committee's ability to do anything in a comprehensive way,'' said Norma Ware, legal counsel to Basnight. ``But we want to ensure that people can enjoy the resource.''
Meanwhile, the state's top fisheries official said Wednesday night that once the provision is approved he and other members of the commission will move quickly to address Basnight's concerns.
``We're going to do everything we can to work it out,'' said Robert V.Lucas, Marine Fisheries Commission chairman. He is chairman of the steering committee studying changes to the commercial fishing license structure.
Basnight's proposal could be incorporated into a special provision in the Senate's expansion and capital budget that extends an existing ban on new commercial license sales for an additional year. Or it could be added as an amendment to one of the environmental bills still in the legislative pipeline, Ware said late Wednesday.
Differences between the Senate and House version of the expansion and capital budget are being discussed by lawmakers this week.
Basnight ``definitely wants to get this out this session,'' Ware said.
Prompted by constituent complaints and by a Virginian-Pilot article on the complicated commercial fishing license renewal process Saturday, Basnight sought the change after meeting with state fisheries managers in Raleigh earlier this week.
Some fishermen had complained to Basnight that under an existing ban on the sale of new commercial fishing licenses, they had been prohibited from using their boats to set as few as three crab pots to catch crabs for their own use. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Marc Basnight
by CNB