Hey guys, they closed NC commercial trawl fishery temporarily.

Stripers Forever NC - The ocean striped bass commercial trawl fishery is currently closed in North Carolina and will not reopen until after the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission meets this week. The commission is slated to review the striped bass incidents that occurred, the state’s response to them and what direction to take in management of this fishery.


The commission meets Feb. 10-11 at the Clam Digger Inn, 511 Salter Path Road, Pine Knoll Shores. We apologize for this short notice but we have only recently received the notice ourselves. The meeting is open to the public, and SF encourages members to attend. Public comment periods are set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10 and 8:15 a.m. Friday, Feb. 11.


Stripers Forever's position is that commercial striped bass fishing should stop entirely because of the conservation benefits, and because game fish designation provides the best possible socio economic returns from the fishery. But that is not a possible outcome of this particular meeting. Some of the local organizations in NC are talking about game fish legislation for striped bass in the near future, and we look forward to helping with that effort. The best short term scenario is for NC to end trawling and other net fishing for striped bass. It is too hard to control bycatch, and the fish taken from a trawl are very likely to die if released. A rod and line commercial fishery would be more appropriate for striped bass since undersized fish can be released alive. Brad Burns