. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Managing fish and fishermen When it comes to managing a com- modity as precious as shrimp, everyone has an opinion. "That creek off Core Sound should be opened to shrimp- ing," laments one fishermen. "It should stay closed," says another. The season should be shortened, gear restricted, areas opened, areas closed— all complaints and opinions funneled into a building in Morehead City that houses the managers, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Mike Street, part of the
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Managing fish and fishermen When it comes to managing a com- modity as precious as shrimp, everyone has an opinion. "That creek off Core Sound should be opened to shrimp- ing," laments one fishermen. "It should stay closed," says another. The season should be shortened, gear restricted, areas opened, areas closed— all complaints and opinions funneled into a building in Morehead City that houses the managers, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Mike Street, part of the fisheries management team, says they hear it all—good and bad. "Our philosophy for management of the shrimp fishery is to get the best yield, biologically, economically and socially, from the crop available," Street says. "That's the only way everyone can ; For the DMF, shrimp is the most valuable seafood crop they manage. They spend countless hours and thou- sands of state dollars to do the job. They intensely sample the primary nursery grounds in May and June for numbers of brown shrimp present and for environmental factors like salinity and temperature that will affect the shrimp's survival rate. For division biologist, Dennis Spitsbergen, 12-hour days are common as the shrimp crop begins to ripen. He may spend eight to 10 hours aboard a DMF trawler sam- pling some remote nursery area, then another four hours in Morehead City headquarters computing figures and meeting with other management of- ficials to advise them on current situa- tions. "North Carolina's fisheries manage- ment system is unique," Street says. "It's a very active, responsive sys- ; The state legislature delegates all authority for making regulations to the state fisheries commission, which Photo by Kathy Hart meets at least four times a year. But for a fishery such as the shrimp fishery, where conditions vary quickly, Con- nell Purvis, the division's
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
