THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 20, 1995 TAG: 9507200390
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
As watermen struggle to keep their heads above a deepening sea of red tape and state officials continue working to revamp the complicated fishing license system, there are still ways to get a free lunch from the sounds and the sea.
``Our commercial licensing system seems chaotic and confusing. We hope people will bear with us as we try to revise the entire process,'' said Bruce Freeman, the state director of marine fisheries, said Tuesday. ``We plan to have a simpler system in place soon.
``But in the meantime, there are provisions in place to allow people to catch crabs and fish by hand and rod and reel. Without a permit, they can't sell that catch,'' Freeman said. ``But they don't need a permit if they're not going to profit.''
Freshwater fishing licenses have been required in North Carolina since 1910. But rod and reel catches of all saltwater species are permitted, for free, throughout the state's coastal waters.
According to state fisheries officials, some shellfish species also may be taken from the water - for personal consumption only - without a permit. State laws allow a limited number of shellfish to be harvested from land or a non-commercial boat without using commercial gear. If the boat is used for any commercial fishing, however, a commercial license is required.
Crab pots, for example, are considered commercial gear if they are used on any vessel - whether it be a sailboat, john boat or work boat. Crab pots may, however, be fished without a license from a dock or pier or if the person wants to walk into the water to place a pot. Crabs can be caught without a license from boats only when taken by hand, such as on a line with a chicken neck.
Non-commercial harvest of shellfish and crabs without a license is permitted with the following restrictions:
One bushel of oysters per day per person, not to exceed two bushels per vessel per day;
One hundred clams per person per day, not to exceed 200 clams per vessel per day;
One-half bushel of scallops per person per day, not to exceed one bushel per vessel per day;
Fifty blue crabs per person per day, not to exceed 100 blue crabs per vessel per day;
Ten conches per person per day, not to exceed 20 conches per vessel per day;
One hundred mussels per person per day, not to exceed 200 mussels per vessel per day. MEMO: For more information, or to comment on the state's fishing license
overhaul process, call the Division of Marine Fisheries at (800)
682-2632.
ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by DREW C. WILSON/
Afternoon crabbers toss chicken necks and baited traps into the
water Wednesday at Colington. While the state requires freshwater
fishing licenses, rod and reel catches are permitted in all its
coastal waters.
KEYWORDS: FISHING LICENSE by CNB