A Big Win for Albies!

​This past week a lot of anglers used their keyboards and voices to show their support of guard rail regulations on False Albacore along the NC Coast.

​These “guard rail” regulations were presented to North Carolina’s Marine Fisheries Commision a year ago, after ASGA’s research started gaining traction. Previous to the American Saltwater Guide’s Association’s scientific study of False Albacore, there was little to no science on these fish. Thanks to their genetic sampling and tagging from New England to Florida, we are starting to understand their migration and genetics better. It turns out that all of these fish are from the same breeding stock…they are all related. Many of the Albies that summer in Massachusetts, spend their fall in North Carolina, and overwinter in Key West Florida.  

With increasing pressure on these fish both recreationally and commercially, it became concerning that there were absolutely no limits on the harvest of these fish. One of the biggest concerns was the fact that False Albacore, due to their oily nature and high content of Omega 3, are being considered as a possible new target by large commercial industries from outside of the USA. The possibility of huge boats coming in with thousands of yards of seine nets to encircle the schools of Albacore for fish meal or cat food is quite frightening.

The push for the Marine Fisheries Commision to vote in favor of protective regulations on these fish has increased over the last year. A plan was written up by the Division of Marine Fisheries to set a cap on Albie harvest. They took the 5-year average of Albies harvested in NC from 2018-2022 and doubled it. If this rule was voted in, regulations would go into effect on Albies only once we hit the 200% average harvest cap. Once the regulation kicks in, it would be 10 fish per rec angler, and 3500lbs of fish per commercial trip. There are less than 3% of the commercial anglers even hitting the 500lb mark on Albie harvest, much less a 3500lb mark. This plan was put together with the idea that the restrictions would not affect any current recs or commercials and would even allow for some growth. What it would do though, is stop the fishery from expanding out of control into a disastrous situation. It would also keep a large-scale fishery for Albacore from being developed. We share our Albies up and down the East Coast, so the fish would only be protected while in NC waters once the rule would go into effect. There are currently 4 other states to the north of us considering protective regulations also, and they were watching us to help them make their decisions.

​The last few weeks, guides, anglers and the ASGA have been rallying for support of this ruling. Leading up to the meeting, over 250 public comments were submitted in favor of the proposed rules. Then this past Wednesday night and Thursday morning, many guides and rec anglers came to the meeting to speak in front of the Marine Fisheries Commission. Later on Thursday the commission deliberated and took a vote. There were commissioners who voted against the vote due to the lack of science proving that Albies needed regulations. On the other side, there were commissioners who voted in favor of regulations, stating that the lack of protection due to the lack of adequate science always ends up with over fished fisheries, as there just isn’t enough funding for more scientists. In the end, it came down to status quo vs setting a new standard. The MFC voted 5 to 4 in favor of guard rail regulations to protect Albies in the future as more science is done to study the species. This is a big win for Albies and for every angler that appreciates these amazing fish. For the first time in a long time, I watched NC set a shining example for all of the other states to follow. Hopefully this will lead to a chain reaction of protection up and down the East Coast.  

A huge thank you to everyone who spoke out in favor of False Albacore this month, we could not have done this without the support of the public.

​The Wednesday meeting and public comments can be viewed here:

​The Thursday meeting can be viewed here. Public comments begin at the beginning and the deliberation and voting start at the 7hr 5 min mark.

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For more information, please visit the Albie Project on ASGA's website.

THE ALBIE PROJECT