Fishing for striped bass closes today

MOREHEAD CITY - Recreational striped bass fishing will close today in all central and southern waters of the state.

The closure will implement new striped bass restrictions, including an annual striped bass fishing season, adopted by both the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The closure will encompass all coastal waters from a line running from Roanoke Marshes across Pamlico Sound to Eagle Nest Bay (near Pea Island National Refuge in Dare County) to the South Carolina state line. Waters within the closure area include coastal, joint, and inland designations of the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico and Pungo rivers and all their tributaries extending upstream to the first impoundment of the main course of each river or tributary.

Possession of striped bass in these waters will be prohibited during the closure, and all striped bass that are caught must be immediately returned to the water.

The season will open from Oct. 1 through April in all central and southern waters, except the Cape Fear River, with an 18-inch minimum size limit and a two-fish per person creel limit. Also, no striped bass between 22 inches and 27 inches may be taken from waters classified as joint or inland.

The Cape Fear River will remain closed to striped bass fishing year-round.

The restrictions are needed to protect spawning fish and rebuild the stock from depleted status, the Division of Marine Fisheries said.

The commercial striped bass fishery in the Central/Southern Striped Bass Management Area is managed under a separate 25,000-pound quota along with restrictions on seasons, net mesh sizes, net tie-down requirements, net attendance and limitations on setting nets close to shorelines.

Maps of designated inland, joint, and coastal waters may be viewed at the Division of Marine Fisheries Web site at www.ncfisheries.net. Click on "Maps to Download" and then select "Descriptive Boundaries for Coastal-Joint-Inland Waters."

A booklet designating the boundaries of the state's coastal, joint and inland waters by county is available for free download from the Wildlife Resources Commission Web site at www.ncwildlife.org. Click on the fishing link on the left side of the page, then select "Coastal, Joint and Inland Fishing Waters Designation in North Carolina" under the coastal recreational fishing information box.