From a Carteret County News-Times report

EMERALD ISLE — State fisheries managers have chosen their preferred shrimp trawling regulations, which leave out many area closures the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries recommended.

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission held its business meeting last week at The Islander Hotel & Resort. During the meeting, the commission selected its preferred management options for the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2.

The Division of Marine Fisheries recommended to the Marine Fisheries Commission a suite of management measures that included closing 315,206 acres of coastal waters to shrimp trawling to reduce bycatch. Combined with existing areas closed to trawling, the division recommendations would have closed 62.1% of the state’s estuarine waters to such activity.

The amendment, particularly its recommended closures, has faced considerable opposition, including from commercial shrimpers, consumers and government officials.

After lengthy deliberation, two public comment periods, and a motion on the Division of Marine Fisheries recommendations failing 4-5, the commission selected it’s preferred management measures 5-3, with members Robert McNeill, Tom Roller and Chairperson Rob Bizzell opposed and member James Konegay abstaining. These preferred measures now go to the state Department of Environmental Quality for review.

The commission’s preferred management measures include some area closures to trawling. If given final approval, the measures will permanently prohibit all trawling in crab sanctuary areas and also prohibit shrimp trawling in Bogue Sound and its tributaries, as well as in Carolina Yacht Basin, except for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in both areas.

Most of the about 55 speakers during the public comment periods Wednesday and Thursday were opposed to the division’s recommendations, alleging there’s no scientific data to support widespread closures to shrimp trawling and that it would severely affect the commercial shrimp industry, putting many smaller fishermen out of business.

State Sen. Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, was present at the meeting Nov. 17 and spoke during public comment. The senator, who sits on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, called the DMF’s recommendations “death by a thousand cuts.”

“You need to be thinking about and representing everyone,” Steinburg said.

Several county leaders, including Carteret County Commissioner Chris Chadwick, spoke at the meeting, as well.

“Many families up and down the coast rely on shrimpers,” Chadwick said. “The totality of the impacts (of the proposed closures) is more than many commissioners would like to admit. If you fail these working watermen, you’ve also failed the eastern North Carolina consumer.”

Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina Executive Director David Sneed and President Dr. Chris Elkins spoke in favor of the DMF’s recommendations. Elkins said the amount of bycatch in shrimp trawling is “obscene” and more consideration is needed for protecting the resources for recreational fishermen.

Division staff stressed their recommendations were made on the best information they had available at the time. Director Kathy Rawls said the recommendations were “grounded in the data” and “reviewed by the public” during a rulemaking process that began with direction from the Marine Fisheries Commission in 2018.

“There’s a difficult balance to strike here between maintaining access to a resource and to protect one of the best natural resources on the Atlantic Coast,” she said.

This story is provided courtesy of the Carteret County News-Times, a newspaper published in Morehead City. Coastal Review partners with the News-Times to provide our readers with news of the North Carolina coast.

Reprinted from Carteret County News-Times

An area environmental nonprofit organization is going to receive funding to remove marine debris, including abandoned and derelict vessels.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will award $2.7 million in grants for marine debris removal and prevention across 23 projects, The office of Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., announced Friday.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the state’s coastal environment, is receiving $121,090 to aid with the removal of at least 20 abandoned and derelict vessels from estuaries in northeastern North Carolina.

“These projects assist with wildlife preservation, navigation safety and economic prosperity in the affected areas,” Murphy’s office said. “The vessels that will be removed as a result of this grant have either been purposefully abandoned or were lost and destroyed as a result of the many hurricanes that have hit the area in the past ten years.”

Federation coastal education coordinator Rachel Bisesi said in an email to the News-Times vessel removal efforts will begin in October. The project is part of a larger effort to clean up marine debris around the coast.

“Large scale marine debris cleanups are underway,” Bisesi said, “including the removal of abandoned and derelict vessels from the N.C. coast.”

In addition to Carteret County, cleanups are also ongoing in Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, Beaufort, Craven, Onslow, Brunswick, Pender and New Handover counties. Bisesi said as of Thursday, 32 tons of marine debris have been collected from the Rachel Carson National Estuarine Research Reserve, Hammocks Beach State Park, Permuda Island and Masonboro Island.

Murphy, who represents the third district of North Carolina, including Carteret County, thanked NOAA for “this generous grant to help the North Carolina Coastal Federation clean up marine debris from North Carolina’s beautiful coast.”

“These projects will significantly help clear up our waterways to make them more navigable and help our ecosystems thrive,” Murphy said. “It’s a great win-win for eastern North Carolina’s economy and environment.”

Reprinted from Carteret County News-Times

Pine Knoll Shores has lost a long-standing civil servant. Mayor Ken Jones died Thursday. He was 61 years old.

Town staff issued a release shortly after noon Thursday announcing the mayor’s death. Munden Funeral Home of Morehead City is handling arrangements.

“Mayor Jones served the town of Pine Knoll Shores for many years in multiple capacities and will be deeply missed,” Assistant Town Manager Julie Anderson said in the announcement. In a phone interview with the News-Times, Ms. Anderson said the mayor’s death was “shocking to everyone.”

No further details on his death were released.

Just prior to his death, Jones had presided over the regular town board of commissioners meeting Wednesday evening. Commissioner Ted Goetzinger said Thursday he’d sat next to the mayor that night.

“Ken seemed as happy as he’s ever been,” Goetzinger said. “I’ve known Ken for 25 years; five years ago, he was instrumental in getting me to run again (for reelection).”

Goetzinger said he’s never “seen anyone as beloved as Ken was.”

“He was a champion of a lot of things in this town,” the commissioner said. “Ken never met a microphone he didn’t like. He had a wicked sense of humor.”

Goetzinger said two of Jones’ strong suits were how much residents loved him and how much he cared for Pine Knoll Shores.

“He really pushed volunteerism and praised the town staff,” the commissioner continued. “The town’s going to go on, (but) there’s going to be a void for a long time.”

Jones had served as mayor for more than decade and was reelected in 2019 for his latest term. In 2012, he was a Republican candidate for the state Senate.

Jones was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and served twice at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

In Indian Beach, just west of Pine Knoll Shores, Mayor Stewart Pickett said Thursday he’s “shocked like everyone else” at the news of Jones’ death.

“I worked closely with Ken for many years,” Pickett said. “We worked well together; he will be greatly missed.”

Pickett remembered Jones as an early riser, often surprising him with unexpected visits.

“He was a gentle soul,” Pickett said.

Carteret County Commission Chairman Bill Smith said Mayor Jones will be “sorely missed” by his friends, family and the residents of Pine Knoll Shores.

“Ken and I had become friends over the years with me serving on the commission and him as mayor,” Smith said.  “He was a great leader for Pine Knoll Shores and did good things for the town from what I can tell.”

Further west along Bogue Banks, Emerald Isle Mayor Eddie Barber said he, too, was shocked by the news of Mayor Jones’ death. He said he and Jones had met through the Carteret County Mayor’s Association.

“Ken and I were good friends,” Barber said. “I’m sorry to hear about it. I have very good memories of him. I know the town will miss him a great deal.”

Barber said he remembers working with Mayor Jones through various hurricanes, as well as through the current novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Ken was very dedicated,” Barber said. “My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family and the people of Pine Knoll Shores. He was a good and faithful servant.”

With his death, Mayor Pro Tem Clark Edwards now assumes the mayoral duties for the town until further notice.

Reporters Jackie Starkey and Elise Clouser contributed to this report. 

Reprinted with permission from the Carteret County News-Times

PINE KNOLL SHORES — Town officials fined two homeowners $10,000 for an environmental protection ordinance violation.

Town commissioners held a special meeting Wednesday  to hear Chet and Rhonda Osterhoudt appeal a notice of violation. The homeowners were fined $10,000, the maximum amount allowed by state law, April 23 for removing vegetation from the frontal dune on their adjacent oceanfront lots and performing other land-disturbance activities without a permit.

After hearing testimony from the Osterhoudts, other residents, a drone photography business owner and town officials, the board deliberated and unanimously affirmed Town Manager Brian Kramer’s decision to fine the Osterhoudts.

After the meeting, Chet Osterhoudt said he and wife were ganged up on. “It’s been one thing after another since we moved here. Ten thousand dollars is excessive (for a fine).”

Osterhoudt asked the board to hold Stella Construction Co., the landscaper they’d hired, accountable for failing to get the necessary permit and said they intend to keep disputing the fine.

Neil Whitford, the town attorney, said that any appeal would have to be argued in civil court.

Whitford said during the meeting that the violation that resulted in the $10,000 fine is related to an earlier ordinance violation. In April 2018, town officials learned the Osterhoudts had without permits removed a dozen trees from the oceanfront area of the property, including the dune oceanward of their house. The Osterhoudts were fined $1,200 for the initial violation.

Then, in February, officials learned of additional land disturbance, finding stumps of the previously removed trees had been removed in addition to more vegetation from the frontal dune. There had also been grading and a gravel driveway laid on the ocean side of the house.

Whitford called residents Trish and Jessie Randall as witnesses. The couple reported to the town manager in February that they saw Chet Osterhoudt on a tractor performing what seemed to be grading to the dune on his property.

Trish Randall said she spoke to Chet Osterhoudt, whom she alleged told her he was preparing to put in a pool.

The Randalls also contacted Crystal Coast Aerials owner Harold O’Brian, who confirmed at the meeting he’d taken photos of the lot after that contact.

Kramer said the fine was appropriate for “the most significant degradation of an oceanfront dune” he’d seen in 12 years as manager and because this was the Osterhoudts’ second violation of a town environmental protection ordinance.

The Osterhoudts stressed they hadn’t intentionally violated the ordinance either time. Their primary residence is in Rocky Mount, which they said doesn’t have similar rules.

“We don’t think to get permits. We paid our penalty last year and agreed to plant 12 trees to replace the ones cut. We cleared the stumps and things so we could have a lawn; the driveway was also messed up, so I hired a local contractor. I thought if there were any permits needed, he’d get them,” said Chet Osterhoudt.

Osterhoudt said that when he was first fined, he was told he couldn’t cut trees without a permit, but nothing was said about other kinds of landscaping.

Reprinted with permission from the Carteret County News-Times

OTWAY — About 20 years of restoration work on about 6,000 acres of farmland is almost complete, and the finishing touches should be done by October at the latest.

This is what North Carolina Coastal Federation staff had to say Thursday while hosting a tour of the nonprofit organization’s North River Wetlands Preserve, a restoration project at the former North River Farms in Down East Carteret County.

The project began in 1999 and is the largest wetlands restoration project in North Carolina to date. During the tour, federation coastal specialist Bree Charron detailed for those in attendance the work that’s gone on over the last 20 years at the site.

“In the 1980s and 1990s this area was ditched and cleared for farming,” Charron explained. “The Coastal Federation worked with the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund to purchase the first tract, about 2,000 acres.”

In the following years, additional tracts were purchased with the help of the federation’s partner organizations, and in 2003, work began on restoring the natural wetlands that existed prior to the property being turned into farmland. The federation’s partners on the project include private hunting club 1804 Wildlife Partners LLC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetlands Reserve Program, now called the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.

The project was completed in 11 phases over the years. Charron said the last phase should be complete by sometime in October.

During the tour Thursday, the group stopped at an area being restored by contractors.

“These emergent wetlands will be grassy wetlands surrounded by forested wetlands,” Charron said. “It (the project) is under a permanent federal conservation easement, which means nothing can ever be built.”

At another stop along the tour, Coastal Wildlife Consultants contractors were installing a water control structure.  Charron said these types of structures are often built to allow an area’s water level to be controlled, and the Coastal Federation intends “to hold back as much water as possible” to protect nearby waterways.

Coastal Wildlife Consultants owner Mike Johnson was also on hand at the installation site.

“My specialty is waterfowl habitat,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of fruit to our labors. We create habitat and then manage that habitat. “

With the majority of the active restoration work complete at North River Farms, wildlife has been seen with increasing frequency. Local birder John Fussell, who was on the tour, said he’s been bird watching in the North River Farms area since late 2002.

“We’ve seen about 250 bird species here,” Fussell said. “This property includes some of North River marshes.”

Among the species seen is black rail, which has been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species.

“The endangered peregrine falcon sometimes feeds here,” Fussell said.

Other wildlife sighted at the project site include alligators, otters, beavers, bears, raccoons, snakes and terrapins.

Another reason the federation and its partners have been restoring the wetlands is to control stormwater runoff.

Stormwater is the No.1 nonpoint source of water pollution in the state. When rain events occur over areas with impervious surfaces or with poor water retention, the water flows quickly to drains and then to local water bodies. It often picks up pollutants along the way, carrying them into the water.

“When this (land) was all forested, the rain was all absorbed,” Charron said. “Once we started ditching and draining, it started running off into the adjacent waterways, caring nutrients and pathogens. One of these drainage canals can have seven million gallons of water leaving the farm a day.”

With the wetlands restored at North River Farms, the land will have better stormwater retention, filtering it instead through the ground.

“If you look at North River Farms as a whole,” Charron said, “we capture over 1 billion gallons of water per year.”

Reprinted from the Carteret County News-Times

PINE KNOLL SHORES — Interest in aquaculture is on the rise, oyster restoration is progressing and shellfish leasing is booming, but with issues over siting and conflicting uses of public waters, there’s still room for improvement.

This was the takeaway message from presentations state Division of Marine Fisheries Director Steve Murphey gave Tuesday during a meeting of the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agricultural, Natural and Economic Resources. The committee met at the North Carolina Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores and heard several presentations, including two from Murphey and an update on oyster research from Ami Wilbur, director of the shellfish research hatchery at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Murphey explained to the committee that progress was being made in implementing the 2017 Marine Aquaculture Development Act and gave an update on the state’s oyster/shellfish rehabilitation program.

The act was signed into law in July and authorized the state Department of Environmental Quality secretary to issue permits for aquaculture. It also required the fisheries division to request federal rules to allow aquaculture in the federal waters between 3 and 200 miles offshore.

Murphey said that while interest in aquaculture has been expressed to his division, no formal application for an aquaculture lease had been submitted.

“I do foresee them coming soon,” he said. The division has also sent letters to the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council and the South Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission, two interstate fishery management agencies with jurisdiction in federal Atlantic waters, including those off North Carolina.

Murphey said that talks with both these agencies and the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is the federal rulemaking body that oversees all fisheries in federal waters, are ongoing.

“We’ve had good meetings with the National Marine Fisheries Service,” Murphey said.

Three Division Programs

Growing shellfish is of particular interest in North Carolina, both to those in the seafood industry and to state officials. Murphey said his division has three main sections dedicated to improving native shellfish populations, which because of excessive harvest are at a fraction of their historic levels. These sections are oyster sanctuaries, oyster reef cultch planting and shellfish aquaculture leases.

“The sanctuaries establish no-take oyster reefs to provide seed for surrounding oyster rocks and cultch sites,” Murphey said. Cultch is the material upon which oyster beds form. “We’ve reached out to the North Carolina Coastal Federation (for assistance).”

The federation is a nonprofit based in Carteret County dedicated to the protection and restoration of the coastal environment. Together with the division, they’ve acquired federal funding for their continued work establishing oyster sanctuaries.

One of the latest projects underway is building an oyster sanctuary at Swan Island near the mouth of the Neuse River. Murphey said that the partially finished sanctuary has proven successful in promoting oyster growth, so far.

“It provides a tremendous amount of substrate,” he said.

Oyster larvae prefers to attach to other oyster shells to grow, so the division has put a lot of effort into cultch planting, which spreads oyster shell and other materials – such as concrete or granite – on the water bottoms.

“We used to average 75,000 bushels (of cultch) per year,” Murphey said. For this year, he estimates the division will spread about 382,253 bushels.

The division has encountered a hang-up with its cultch planting, however. Murphey said the division had to surplus its main deployment boat used for cultch planting, a re-purposed vessel built for military use, because of structural integrity issues. He said they plan to pursue replacing it with another, albeit smaller vessel, which would cost an estimated $1.5 million.

Shellfish leases have been issued in North Carolina since the 1850s, and Murphey said that in recent years there’s been growing interest in them. He said that since about 2015, lease applications have been steadily rising.

“With the threat of conflicts and legal action, it’s tough to keep the interest going.”

Steve Murphey, Director, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries

However, with the growing interest in growing shellfish, there’s also been a growing number of issues. Murphey said the division has noticed a lot of lease siting problems, particularly over conflicting uses of public trust waters, hazards to navigation and concerns over the effects of leases on the views from waterfront homes.

Murphey said the division was working with those in the aquaculture business to try and address the issues.

“A lot of people think it’s commercial fishermen moving into aquaculture,” Murphey said. “But a lot of time it’s entrepreneurs. They don’t have any experience (with shellfishing), so we need to refine our training requirements.”

Other concerns Murphey brought up included the problem with derelict gear and abandonment of and theft from shellfish lease sites. Murphey suggested potential solutions, including changes to siting restrictions, a study of Bogue Sound for planning purposes and training rules for lease eligibility.

The state Marine Fisheries Commission, the rulemaking body that creates the regulations the division enforces, temporarily stopped issuing shellfish leases in February until the growing concerns could be addressed. Murphey said the division was to report back to the commission with proposed solutions during its meeting May 16-17.

Murphey said the key to promoting shellfish aquaculture in North Carolina is to keep the momentum going.

“The issue is the conflict,” he said, referring to disputes over siting, water views and uses. “With the threat of conflicts and legal action, it’s tough to keep the interest going.”

State Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret, committee co-chair, said that if the division could put together cost estimates for its projects that need funding, such as the new deployment vessel, the committee would bring the request to the full General Assembly during its upcoming short session.

UNCW Research

The state isn’t alone in pursuing improvements to shellfish growing. Wilbur, of UNCW’s shellfish hatchery, said the university’s researchers are focused on understanding wild oyster populations so they can help manage North Carolina’s wild oysters in more sustainable ways.

Oysters are an important species in that they filter water as they feed, helping improve water quality, protecting habitat for various species and protecting shorelines from erosion.

UNCW is home to the state’s only shellfish research hatchery. Established in 2011, the hatchery provides shellfish larvae for research projects and shellfish aquaculture.

“Our program develops selective breeding of oysters,” Wilbur said. “It was noted by North Carolina (oyster) farmers using the (oyster seed) line from Virginia that they weren’t so spectacular, so new lines were needed.”

In addition to oyster seed, the hatchery is also branching out into growing seed for clams and scallops, as well as experimenting with different types of cages for growing shellfish and developing new shellfish husbandry strategies.

Learn More

• Division of Marine Fisheries’ Shellfish Lease and Franchise Program
• UNCW Shellfish Research Hatchery

This story is provided courtesy of the Carteret County News-Times, a tri-weekly newspaper published in Morehead City. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the News-Times to provide our readers with news of the North Carolina coast.