Federal fisheries are managed through a joint process involving the National Marine Fisheries Service and regional fishery management councils. These management bodies are tasked with managing commercially and recreationally important fisheries and habitat offshore area from 3 miles to 200 miles from shore called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). North Carolina has representation on two federal fishery management councils, The Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

 

The Mid-Atlantic Council is responsible for managing species such as summer flounder, bluefish, spiny dogfish, longfin and shortfin squid, and black sea bass (north of Cape Hatteras) with some of these species jointly managed or co-managed with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the New England Fishery Management Council. The South Atlantic Council is responsible for managing species such as red snapper, gag grouper, black sea bass (south of Cape Hatteras) dolphinfish, wahoo, king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. A complete list of managed species by the councils can be found on their websites.

 

Authority to manage federal fisheries comes from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, more commonly referred to as the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The First act was passed in 1976, establishing the Council process and extending the Nation’s sovereign authority over fisheries throughout the extent of the EEZ. The act has been amended numerous times since it was first signed into law to make adjustments to the management process, the requirements for regular assessments annual catch limits, and removing highly migratory species as defined as tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks from the council authority.

The Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 is the most recent amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Act which authorizes the councils to use alternative fishery management measures for the recreational fishery and establishes a state-federal partnership program to improve recreational data collection. The goal of management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act is to prevent overfishing and rebuild overfished fisheries, increase long term social and economic benefits, provide for abundant recreational opportunities, and ensure safe and sustainable seafood.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act establishes the process of managing fisheries in the EEZ through the regional councils with science and technical support of the National Marine Fisheries Service and final approval by the secretary of commerce. As part of this process, the regional fishery management councils work to provide fishing opportunities and create economic benefits in their region while also meeting conservation and management requirements. The councils develop management plans that prevent overfishing, allocate fishing quotas to different fishing sectors, implement gear restrictions, and protect sensitive habitats. To ensure transparency and incorporate stakeholder feedback, proposed decisions are subject to review and comment by scientists, stakeholders, and the public.

The councils meet periodically throughout the year, typically in each of the states within the management area. Before final action on any proposed rule change is taken, the council involves the public through informal public scoping meetings, public hearings, and input at council meetings. Proposed rule changes are then sent to NMFS for further review, public comment, and final approval by the secretary of commerce before implementation. In addition, the councils receive input and recommendations from knowledgeable people from other state and federal agencies, universities, and members of the public who serve on various committees and panels. These include advisory panels, the Scientific & Statistical Committee, and stock assessment panels.

Citizens from each state within the councils’ management area who are knowledgeable of some aspects of the fisheries are eligible to become council members. The current South Atlantic Fishery Management Council appointed members from North Carolina are Anna Beckwith and Tim Griner. Dewey Hemilright and Sara Winslow currently serve as North Carolina’s appointed members on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Additionally, a representative from each state’s fisheries management agency serves on the Council. The state representative seats are reserved for the principal fisheries management director or their proxy. Because North Carolina has representation on two regional councils as well as an interstate fisheries management commission, the director of marine fisheries names proxies to serve in his place and to devote the time necessary to represent the interest of the state at the federal level.

The Division of Marine Fisheries employees who serve on the council and their background and expertise are detailed below.

 

Steve Poland works in the director’s office of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries as the executive assistant for councils and is the agency’s designee on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. After receiving a B.Sc. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from N.C. State University, he started his professional career at the NCSU Center for Marine Science and Technology. There he worked and collaborated on numerous research projects including black seabass discard mortality, spotted seatrout movement and mortality, and juvenile fish survival in altered coastal creeks. Steve continued his studies at UNC-Wilmington where he investigated the trophic relationships of large pelagic predators in the South Atlantic Bight food web and earned a Master of Science in Marine Biology. Upon graduation, he began his professional career in the Age Lab at the Division of Marine Fisheries where he worked on numerous age and life history studies of commercially and recreationally important finfish. Eventually, he moved up to the position of fisheries biologist and then biologist supervisor in the division’s Central District Office where he was the state species lead responsible for spotted seatrout, weakfish, dolphinfish, and cobia. Steve is not only interested professionally in South Atlantic and interstate fisheries, during his personal time he can often be found offshore or in the coastal waters of central North Carolina targeting whatever fish species is seasonally available. He assumed the agency designee position for the Council in June 2018.

Chris Batsavage serves as the special sssistant for councils and the state designee for the division director on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and has done so since 2012. He received his Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Tech University, and his Master of Science in Biology from East Carolina University. Originally from Leesburg, Va., Chris began his career at the Division of Marine Fisheries in 1998 as a Fisheries Technician in the Wanchese Field Office. As a fisheries biologist, he served as the lead biologist for southern flounder and represented the division on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass, and the Spiny Dogfish technical committees. Chris also gained considerable knowledge of the life histories of Mid-Atlantic Council-managed species as well as the commercial and recreational fisheries for those species in his technician and biologist positions. When not in the office or out of town for meetings, Chris enjoys fishing, reading, and spending time with his family.