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Calls for reform of "broken" NC Fisheries Management
Story Date: 8/27/2020
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Source: NC PUBLIC NEWS WIRE, 8/26/20
Calls are increasing to merge the state's Division of Marine Fisheries into the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission from people who argue the move would increase effectiveness, reduce public confusion and save money.
Louis Daniel, former director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, said competing interests between the commercial fishing industry and those who want to sustain healthy fish populations mean wildlife-management proposals backed by science often go nowhere. He said he believes the result is overall poor management that benefits neither side.
"But when you've got one division saying, 'We need to manage for maximum extraction, maximum yield,' and the other saying that we need to manage what's in the best interest of the resource," he said, "those two conflict and you can't come to a resolution."
Since the mid-1990s, the number of commercial fish landings in North Carolina has declined by 79% and catches of certain species, such as Atlantic croaker, have dropped by 85%. In a written statement, the Division of Marine Fisheries said the issue of combining the agencies has a long history, has been debated and studied before, and ultimately was not recommended.
Tim Gestwicki, chief executive of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, said North Carolina is failing to implement sustainable commercial and recreational fishing practices. If over-fishing continues, he said, the marine resources will diminish until there's nothing left. He said it's up to advocacy groups to build a case for the merger and educate residents and elected officials.
"I believe that from an efficiency and from a cost-savings manner, especially now in these budgetary times," he said, "it makes all the sense in the world."
Last year, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation passed a resolution called "One Mission, One Commission." It recommends consolidating the Wildlife Resources Commission and the Division of Marine Fisheries with the goal of improving stewardship of the state's natural resources.
The resolution is online here. The NCWF news release is here.
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