THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 20, 1995 TAG: 9510200533
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
North Carolina gains voting privileges on a federal fisheries management council under the federal Fishery Conservation and Management Act approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation, known as the Magnuson Act, was approved by the House 388-37. It included an amendment, introduced by Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., a Republican representing North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District, that adds North Carolina as a voting member to the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council - a move sought by the state's fishermen and fisheries managers for several years.
The Mid-Atlantic council oversees federal management of a variety of migratory fish species - including summer flounder, bluefish and weakfish - that account for much of North Carolina's commercial and sports catch.
North Carolina currently is a member of the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and participates in various Mid-Atlantic council activities as a non-voting member.
Because of the state's location on the Atlantic Coast at the confluence of northern and southern fish species, fishermen and fisheries managers argued that North Carolina should be allowed representation on both councils.
Jones' amendment will give North Carolina two voting seats on the Mid-Atlantic council, raising total voting membership to 21.
State fisheries officials said Thursday that once on the Mid-Atlantic council, North Carolina could apply for an additional seat.
``I am grateful for the bipartisan support given to this bill by my colleagues on this very important issue to eastern North Carolina,'' Jones said in a statement. ``I am glad that North Carolina's significant role in Atlantic fisheries has at last been recognized with voting representation on the Mid-Atlantic fisheries council.''
The Magnuson Act, enacted in 1976 amid concerns that foreign fleets were depleting the population of fish off the coast of the United States, established a conservation zone from three to 200 miles off the coast. And it empowered the federal government, through eight regional management councils, to develop fisheries management plans for stocks of fish within their management regions.
A vote in the Senate on the Magnuson Act is expected later this fall. by CNB