Preston P. Pate, Jr., Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective at 12:01 A.M., Tuesday, January 1, 2002, the following restrictions will apply to the commercial spiny dogfish shark Squalus acanthias fishery:

No person or fishing operation may take, possess, land, sell or offer for sale spiny dogfish sharks taken with commercial fishing equipment or for commercial purposes from all internal coastal waters and the Atlantic Ocean.

GENERAL INFORMATION

A) This proclamation is issued under the authority of G.S. 113-182; 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 113-221(e); 143B-289.52; and N.C. Marine Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 3H .0103 and 3M .0505.

B) It is unlawful to violate the provisions of any proclamation issued by the Fisheries Director under his delegated authority per 15A NCAC 3H .0103.

C) This action is being taken because the spiny dogfish commercial quota for harvest period II for 2002 established by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) for federal waters has been harvested. The intent of this proclamation is to bring North Carolina into compliance with the requirements of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Spiny Dogfish Emergency Action of October 15, 2001 which requires that state waters be closed to the harvest of spiny dogfish when federal waters close. Federal waters closed Wednesday, November 21, 2001 and will remain closed through April, 2002.

D) This proclamation temporarily supersedes the portions of FF-31-2000, dated June 16, 2000, which exempts spiny dogfish from harvest, size and season restrictions.

E) This proclamation expires at midnight, April 30, 2002.