Core Sound, parts of Pamlico Sound open to gill net fishing

Area waters that were closed to gill net fishing earlier this summer due to a high number of turtle interactions will reopen today but will be under close watch to ensure protection of sea turtles.

Core Sound will open under the same regulations for large-mesh gill nets established under a legal settlement with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. How long it remains open will depend upon any net interactions with sea turtles.

“If there are a high number of interactions, it could close again,” said N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries spokeswoman Patricia Smith.

Core Sound was closed to large-mesh gill nets in June after observers documented 20 sea turtle interactions, 14 of them in Core Sound, over the course of 24 fishing nights. Of those 20, four turtles had died.

In addition to the Core Sound opening, the Division of Marine Fisheries also announced that the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area will also open today.

The division has a Section 10 permit under the Endangered Species act that provides an incidental take permit for the area of Pamlico Sound within the Gill Net Restricted Area.

While that area under the incidental take permit is not bound by the legal settlement with the Beasley center, the same restrictions will apply for large mesh gill nets used in the area through Sept. 17. Division Director Louis Daniel intends to issue a proclamation effective Sept. 20 to allow large mesh gill net fishing in the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area under the same gear restriction as last year.

Smith said the decision to use the more restrictive measures during the initial opening is to maximize the harvest of southern flounder from the large mesh gill net fishing while avoiding interactions with sea turtles.

Under the incidental take permit, the season closes once interactions reach a certain level. If that limit were reached too soon, it could close the waters before late September, when harvest is at a peak.

Fishermen must obtain a permit from the Division of Marine Fisheries to fish in the Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area. They must allow onboard fisheries observers and must report any interactions with sea turtles.

“Fishermen need to understand the importance of complying with this portion of the permit requirements,” Daniel said via a news release. “These reports help validate the observer information, and they help the division identify hot spots that could be closed to allow the rest of the fishery to remain open.”

The Pamlico Sound Gill Net Restricted Area will close to large-mesh gill net fishing Nov. 30 or earlier if the allowable number of sea turtle interactions is met before that time.

All of Pamlico Sound will reopen Jan. 1 to large-mesh gill net fishing.

For more information and to view the proclamations, visit the division’s website at ncfisheries.net. Or, contact David Taylor at 252-808-8074 or David.L.Taylor@ncdenr.gov.