THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 18, 1995 TAG: 9509180112
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILMINGTON LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
Relief for some Dare County crabbers frustrated by licensing red tape could come this week when the state Marine Fisheries Commission decides whether to exempt some fishermen from licensing requirements.
The General Assembly in July changed state laws to allow the Marine Fisheries Commission 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, the 17-member panel that 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 first obtaining a vessel license.
Under the new statute, 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.
But Marine Fisheries Commission Chairman Robert V. Lucas said Friday that the panel might not agree to the change next week.
``I'm not against the concept, but I think it needs to be part of the total package of recommendations from the Moratorium Steering Committee,'' he said.
``But that doesn't mean we can't try to work it out.''
Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat and the primary sponsor of the new provision, said constituent complaints about the complicated commercial fishing license renewal process prompted him to seek the change.
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. by CNB