NCDMF Director Steve Murphey to Young Fishermen: Welcome to the Process!

Reprinted from Tradewinds Magazine, 2018, B. Garrity-Blake; photo courtesy of Steve Murphey

“I welcome you to the process,” said NC Division of Marine Fisheries Director Steve Murphey to young fishermen at a NC Sea Grant-funded “Fish Camp” leadership workshop in Wilmington last March. 

“I’ve talked with stakeholders a long time, and found people have more in common than not,” he continued. “If we can get past the recreational versus commercial paradigm that seems to have set itself up in the state, there are win-win scenarios for everyone. We just have to find the right people.”

Murphey was appointed in January 2018 by the Governor to take the place of Braxton Davis, interim Director following Louis Daniel’s resignation. No stranger to the world of North Carolina fisheries, Murphey began working for DMF as a biologist in 1987. His wife Trish Murphey also worked for DMF as southern district manager before transferring to Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Parternship (APNEP). 

Steve Murphey has seen a lot, including a deepening rift between those who fish for fun and those who fish for food. 

“The divide is made worse by social media,” he said. “I call it confirmation bias, and it’s not just in fisheries – it’s in everything. You listen to the channel that supports how you feel. CNN, Fox, whatever.  If I’m a recreational fishermen and I see a shrimper out trawling I might conclude that it’s his fault I didn't catch anything. Maybe I read that somewhere. I might join an organization that tells me I’m right.” 

Murphey pointed out that commercial fishermen should guard against jumping to conclusions as well. “Say DMF closes an area to gillnets or trawling – keep in mind that it’s not just to benefit recreational fishermen but important for the overall health of the fishery.”  

The director underscored the importance of making science-based decisions. 

“Fisheries science looks at what the evidence tells us, not what we thinkit should be. We make management decisions, and then monitor to see if those decisions have the desired effect.  This can take years and so it is important to have time to monitor if those measures are working or not, and then adjust as necessary."

One of Murphey’s goals is to foster greater cooperation among stakeholder groups, and build on common interests and goals. 

“We need people who are willing to work together and who can come to the table with fresh eyes,” he emphasized. “Balance is the key.” 

Another change that Murphey has noted over time is a commission that has drifted away from the tenets of the 1997 Fisheries Reform Act, legislation that he calls “brilliant.” He gave the example of the shrimp petition hearing that took place in January 2017.

“The shrimp petition went before all of the advisory committees in New Bern. Over 1,000 people were there. It was truly a great example of grass roots democracy. But none of the advisory committees were listened to. The decision seemed to be predetermined, and that’s not how founders of the FRA envisioned the process working…we should not ignore the science or stakeholder input.”  

Murphey believes in following the process laid out in the FRA. He reminded the young fishermen that Bob Lucus, a recreational fisherman and attorney who chaired the Moratorium Steering Committee that led to the Fisheries Reform Act, was visionary in calling for a better process. 

“Bob Lucas wanted to get away from what he called management by ambush,” Murphey noted.  

“For both recreational and commercial fishermen, there was nothing to buffer against sudden closures and other regulatory changes. So a moratorium was put in place on commercial fishing licenses while better a process was set up. It involved several years of meetings, groups working together long days and nights at tables across the state,” Murphey recalled. 

“Two prime things emerged as central to the FRA: first, the development of Fisheries Management Plans for significant species. Stocks had to be managed in a plan, and the plan would have oversight from stakeholders.” 

The other significant part of the FRA, according to Murphey, was the development of Coastal Habitat Protection Plans. “Any habitat, whether pine forests or fields or bodies of water, has a carrying capacity based on the quality of that area. So it’s important to protect habitats,” he stressed. 

The process by which fisheries are managed can seem tedious and time consuming. That, according to Steve Murphey, is by design. 

“First we develop a plan development team, which is a team of technical experts from universities and institutes,” he said. “The plan development team comes up with a stock assessment, which tries to answer what’s going on with the fishery.”

The stock assessment basically determines the amount of fish in a breeding population. “This can be by weight or biomass, numbers, egg production, and so on,” Murphey explained. “Then we determine if a reduction is needed in fishing effort.” 

Murphey noted that the controversial part of fisheries management wasn’t so much figuring out the status of the stock, but rather, how to spread the pain if tough measures are in order. 

“How do we allocate effort reductions, if needed, to the various users?"

Once a stock assessment determines the status of a fishery, a stakeholder advisory committee is formed to review the science and come up with recommendations to the Marine Fisheries Commission, the state’s rule-making body. 

Advisors typically have knowledge in the specific fishery for which a plan is being developed. Commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, and others work with DMF staff for two years. They volunteer their time and expertise, and are not paid. 

“They drive to Wilmington or Morehead City or Washington once a month and hash it out. No other state has as much public input as North Carolina,” Murphey emphasized. 

At the end of the two-year process DMF staff presents recommendations to the Marine Fisheries Commission, the state’s rule-making body. By law the MFC is not required to accept or modify recommended measures, but responsible fisheries managers should weigh stakeholder and staff input very carefully. 

“It’s a long, complicated process,” Murphey emphasized. “And it’s deliberative on purpose because you’re making decisions on people’s livelihoods. It shouldn’t be off-the-cuff decision making.”

Murphey gave southern flounder as an example. 

“Southern flounder is overfished and overfishing is occurring. This means we are taking more flounder from the stock than can be replaced on a sustainable basis. The law says we have two years to end overfishing and 10 years to set that stock back up to where it’s a sustainable type of harvest.”

At Murphey’s first meeting as director, two commissioners requested that he use his proclamation authority – allowing the director to make nimble regulatory changes when needed – to pass emergency restrictions on southern flounder. 

“I declined,” Murphey explained. “I felt that we have a process underway. Dr. Fred Scharf of UNCW, one of the sharpest scientists on flounder I know, is on the advisory committee. They’re working towards updating the stock assessment with the last two years of data.”

Steve Murphey noted that biologists now recognize that southern flounder leave the sounds of North Carolina and migrate south. Therefore scientists working on the stock assessment are integrating data from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 

“It’s a lot of data. The advisors will be making management recommendations with DMF’s plan development team, and present them in 2019,” Murphey said. “That’s the correct process and what the law requires us to do. The stock will last that long -  I’m not worried.”

The ongoing management process compelled him to decline passing emergency regulations by proclamation on southern flounder. “It would be arbitrary for me to say, you know what? I’m just going to shut the gillnet fishery down.” 

Although Steve is a multi-generational Florida “cracker”, he’s lived in North Carolina for most of his career. And he appreciates seafood. 

“One thing that tends to get lost in fisheries deliberations,” Murphey mused, “is the fact that the Fisheries Reform Act calls for management measures that will maximize food production. So the Fisheries Reform Act is about food, as well as recreational fishing opportunities and habitat protection.”

Steve Murphey’s favorite seafood is shrimp, preferably fried. 

"You all are in the business of putting food on the table," Murphey emphasized to the young fishermen. 

“I take that as sacrosanct - you’re the farmers, putting protein on the plate of consumers in this state. And the Fisheries Reform Act is about making sure food production, and other uses and benefits, can be sustained.”