Proceedings Of The First Annual North Carolina Marine Recreational Fishing Forum

Conflict over who may harvest shrinking fish stocks has heightened as demands for the resource increase, fishing technology improves and federal and state laws limit the commercial and recreational take. In North Carolina, 1.2 million saltwater anglers take about 4.1 million fishing trips annually in the ocean and estuaries. This forum gave recreational sportsfishermen an opportunity to hear from a range of experts on issues affecting the availability and health of the fish stocks. The proceedings deliver an overview of the fishery, including trends in catch and status of the estuarine, reef and pelagic species; the status of the environment; economic issues fishermen and the state's economy; fisheries management in the Southeast; and resource conservation programs. The publication also includes text from a question-and-answer period during which sportsfishermen asked panelists about timely issues such as law enforcement, a possible license to sell catch, and the need for more information about anglers and their catch.