1. Impacts of the 2010 Cold Stun Event on N.C. Spotted Seatrout N. C. Marine Fisheries Commission New Bern November 4, 2010

2. ISSUE  Periodic increases in mortality associated with cold stun events have a notable impact on the spotted seatrout population.  How was the N.C. spotted seatrout population impacted by the 2010 cold stun event?

3. General Information Typically one kill per season Impact depends on severity of the temperature lows and rate of decline Recovery time may be longer in the case of consecutive events or unusual environmental conditions (hurricanes, floods) Life history traits (fast growth, early maturity, protracted spawning period) allow for relatively quick recovery

4. Cold Stun 2010

6. Population Size

7. Recreational Lengths

9. Recreational Harvest

10. Commercial Lengths

11. Commercial Harvest (lbs)

12. Monthly Commercial Harvest Cold Stun Years

13. Current Conditions

14. Issue: Cold Stun Events DMFSST ACMFC Give the sustainable harvest options the opportunity to work in rebuilding the stock to 20% SPR Status quo with the assumption that the director will intervene in the event of a catastrophic event and do what is necessary in terms of temporary closures by water body, but the director’s proclamation needs to be an informed decision based on quantifiable data and the outcome needs to be quantified post the closure Remain status quo with the assumption that the director will intervene in the event of a catastrophic event and do what is necessary in terms of temporary closures by waterbody

15. Potential Management Option 1 Give the FMP recommended management measures (14-inch minimum size, 6-fish recreational bag limit, and commercial weekend closure) an opportunity to work in rebuilding the stock to 20% SPR so that SSB is large enough to recover more easily from cold stun events.

16. Potential Management Option 1 + Population should recover faster, providing more fishing opportunities in shorter time span + Less likely the population will experience overfishing + Consistent management strategy - More responsibilities for DMF Marine Patrol in terms of enforcement area and regulations

17. Potential Management Option 2 Limit harvest through season closures (i.e., one month, several months, spawning season) + Partial decrease in the harvest mortality - More responsibilities for DMF Marine Patrol in terms of enforcement area and regulations - Difficult to quantify the amount of reduction - Management strategy will change and may be difficult to inform public on temporary management measures

18. Potential Management Option 3 Close the fishery immediately + Total decrease in the harvest mortality - Enforcement would be difficult and maybe impossible - Lost fishing opportunities for both commercial and recreational fishermen - Potential increase in the number of discards - Difficult to quantify the amount of reduction - Little information on the recovery of stock if fishery dependent data are not available

19. Potential Management Option 1 Give the FMP recommended management measures (14-inch minimum size, 6-fish recreational bag limit, and commercial weekend closure) an opportunity to work in rebuilding the stock to 20% SPR so that SSB is large enough to recover more easily from cold stun events.

20. COMMENTS/QUESTIONS?