Proclamation delays the opening of speckled trout season by one day

Fishing for speckled trout reopens June 16 for North Carolina anglers

A mistake in paperwork by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will delay the opening of the recreational season for speckled trout by one day to Thursday, June 16.

The season had been scheduled to open on Wednesday, June 15, but Dr. Louis Daniel, director of the NCDMF, issued a proclamation that took effect on June 8, delaying the opening until June 16.

The reason for the change, according to NCDMF spokeswoman Patricia Smith, was that the original proclamation announcing the closing and re-opening of the season for spotted seatrout – filed on Feb. 14 – was in error.

“When we went back and looked at the motion by the Marine Fisheries Commission, we found that it said that the fishery would be closed through June 15, not until June 15,” Smith said. “So the initial proclamation we sent out was in error. We had to draft this (latest) proclamation to fix that error.”

Recreational fishermen have not been allowed to keep spotted seatrout since Jan. 14, when Daniel issued a proclamation prohibiting recreational and commercial fishermen from keeping trout due to extensive cold-water kills in December and January.

On Feb. 14, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission issued a proclamation that kept the recreational closure in place, but it reopened the season for commercial fishermen, allowing them to keep up to 50 pounds of specks per day on weekdays, as long as the 50 pounds made up no more than 10 percent of a commercial fisherman’s daily harvest of other species.

Minutes of the Commission’s Feb. 10-11 meeting actually have it both ways. The minutes read: “The commission decided to continue the spotted seatrout closure for both recreational and commercial fishing until June 15, as was recommended by the division.”

The minutes also record: “Motion by Bradley Styron to continue the spotted seatrout harvest season closure through June 15, with a commercial 10-percent bycatch provision up to 50 pounds per day, seconded by B.J. Copeland – motion carries 7-1.”

The proclamation that NCDMF drafted on Feb. 14 declared that the recreational closure would remain in effect until June 15 – not through June 15. That was the error, according to Smith, that was discovered last week. Daniel’s latest proclamation “fixes” the error.

When the fishery reopens at 12:01 a.m. on June 16, recreational fishermen will be allowed to keep six speckled trout per day, with a 14-inch size minimum. In addition, only two fish per day longer than 24 inches may be kept each day.