The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold six meetings this month for the public to comment on issues impacting estuarine striped bass and spotted seatrout.

The public will receive information and be asked to comment on a draft amendment to the N.C. Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan and on achieving sustainable harvest in the draft N.C. Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan.

The meetings will be held in conjunction with Marine Fisheries Commission advisory committee meetings at the following dates, times and locations:
Sept. 12 at 1 p.m.
Habitat and Water Quality Advisory Committee
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Washington Regional Office
Washington Square Mall, Washington 

Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m.
Finfish Advisory Committee
Craven County Agricultural Extension Office
300 Industrial Dr., New Bern   

Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.
Inland Regional Advisory Committee
Ground Floor Hearing Room
Archdale Building
512 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh

Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.
Central Regional Advisory Committee
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Washington Regional Office
Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 21 at 6 p.m.
Southeast Regional Advisory Committee
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Wilmington Regional Office
127 Cardinal Dr., Wilmington

Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.
Northeast Advisory Committee
Commissioners Meeting Room
Dare County Administrative Building
954 Marshall C. Collins Dr., Manteo

The Estuarine Striped Bass Fisheries Management Plan is a joint plan with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and consists of three management areas. The Albemarle Sound Management Area includes the Albemarle Sound and its tributaries, and Currituck, Roanoke and Croatan Sounds and their tributaries, including Oregon Inlet. Roanoke River Management Area encompasses the Roanoke River and its tributaries including the Middle, Eastmost and Cashie rivers up to the Roanoke Rapids Dam. The Central Southern Management Area includes all other internal coastal waters.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission plans to review this draft amendment at its business meeting this week. Recommendations from the division in the draft amendment to the Striped Bass plan include:
• Keeping current seasons, area restrictions, harvest limits and size limits for the estuarine striped bass fisheries;
• Instituting an overage payback provision for the Central Southern Management Area commercial harvest total allowable catch;
• Continuing to stock striped bass in the Tar-Pamlico, Neuse and Cape Fear rivers;
• Closing the Atlantic Ocean to the recreational harvest of striped bass in the summer.
The Marine Fisheries Commission tentatively approved a draft Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan in May 2010. However, the draft did not meet criteria in a new law passed in June 2010 that requires all fishery management plans to end overfishing within two years of final adoption.

The commission is scheduled to review the revised management options for meeting this new criteria at its meeting this week and vote to send these options out for public comment.

For more information on the draft amendment to the Estuarine Striped Bass Plan, contact division biologists Charlton Godwin at (252) 264-3911 or Charlton.Godwin@ncdenr.gov or Katy West at (252) 946-6481 or Katy.West@ncdenr.gov. For more information on the draft Spotted Seatrout Plan, contact division biologist Chip Collier at (910) 769-7292 or Chip.Collier@ncdenr.gov.