R. Wilson Laney, PhD
Coordinator
South Atlantic FCO
P.O. Box
33683
Raleigh,
NC 27636-3683
(919)
515-5019
FAX: (919) 515-4454
E-mail: wilson_laney@fws.gov
Fact
Sheet
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Station
Facts
- Established: 1986.
- Number of staff: 1 permanent
full-time.
- Annual budget (FY 05) $233,000.
Geographic Area Covered
- South Atlantic coordination
of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) interests in coastal fisheries issues,
North Carolina through the Florida Keys.
- North Carolina, South Carolina
and portions of Georgia and Florida with respect to issues relating
to watersheds of rivers entering the Atlantic Ocean.
Station Goals
- Coordination of restoration
and conservation efforts involving anadromous fishes and their habitats
in accordance with interjurisdictional goals.
- Development of coastwide
standards and protocols for the way in which all Atlantic coast agencies
collect, manage and disseminate fisheries statistics.
- Recovery of shortnose sturgeon
and other species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
- Proper management and conservation
of interjurisdictional fisheries and other aquatic resources, including
their habitats, in South Atlantic waters and watersheds.
- Provide fisheries management
and technical assistance to national wildlife refuges.
- Provide environmental education.
Services Provided To
- State and Federal partners
in restoration of striped bass, American shad, hickory shad, blueback
herring, alewife and sturgeons.
- State and Federal partners
in recovery of shortnose sturgeon and other species listed under the
Endangered Species Act.
- Interjurisdictional fisheries
management commissions, councils and other partnership entities in cooperative
management of South Atlantic fisheries and their habitats.
Activity Highlights
- Represents the FWS on the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in many positions,
i.e., on the Management boards for Bluefish and Weakfish; on committees--
Habitat, Habitat & Fisheries Management plans; on technical committees--Striped
Bass, Bluefish, Spot & Atlantic Croaker; on Plan Development teams--Atlantic
Sturgeon, Striped Bass.
- Represents the FWS on the
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council in several capacities, i.e.,
on the committees for Habitat, Demersal Species and Coastal Migratory.
- Represents the FWS on the
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council in many posts, i.e., on the
committees for Shrimp, Calico Scallops, Bluefish, Red Drum, Spot, Atlantic
Croaker, Spanish Mackerel and Marine Reserves; on the Habitat & Environmental
Protection Advisory Panel and the North Carolina sub-panels.
- Represents Atlantic Coastal
Cooperative Statistics Program which involves the coordination, facilitation,
planning, and management of input from 23 Atlantic state, regional and
Federal fisheries management agencies.
- Coordinates the multi-agency
restoration of the Albemarle Sound-Roanoke striped bass stocks.
- Participates in many capacities
on the FWS’s Ecosystem teams including the Roanoke-Tar-Neuse- Cape Fear
in North Carolina, the Savannah-Santee-Pee Dee in SC and the Altamaha
in Georgia.
- Provides a fisheries outreach
message to civic and conservation groups, to universities, schools and
the general public.
- Participates in “Take-A-Kid
Fishing” activities in North Carolina and Florida.
- Provides fisheries technical
assistance and project reviews to FWS’s Ecological Services, Endangered
Species and Refuge programs.
- Coordinates and provides
leadership on the SEAMAP Winter Tagging Cruise in the coastal waters
of North Carolina.
- Provides technical assistance
to state partners on the fishery management plan development teams for
striped bass and river herring in North Carolina.
Questions
and Answers
What does your office do?
The South Atlantic
Fisheries Coordination Office (FCO) is a relatively new type of field
station, generally referred to as a “coordination offices”, in the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
These offices coordinate the work of many different FWS offices that
deal with coastal aquatic resource issues. Work is carried in out cooperative
partnerships with many other state and Federal agencies, fishery management
councils, commissions and private organizations in managing aquatic
resources of the South Atlantic coastal waters. The office provides
a single point of contact to improve communication and cooperative efforts
within the FWS and between the FWS and these other organizations.
What is the FWS role in managing
the aquatic resources of the South Atlantic?
The FWS is chiefly concerned with the management of what is referred to
as interjurisdictional fisheries resources. The term “interjurisdictional”
generally means a fish population that crosses state or international
boundaries. In the South Atlantic, the FWS is concerned with restoration
and management of anadromous species. The term “anadromous” refers to
a fish species that spawns in rivers but spends part of its life in the
ocean. Falling into the interjurisdictional category are coastal and marine
species such as striped bass, American shad, hickory shad, alewife, blueback
herring and Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons.
The FWS participates as a partner with the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission and the Atlantic states in helping to manage these
species. The FWS is a member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management
Council and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which manages
fisheries in Federal marine waters (out to two hundred miles).
Does your office get involved
in educating the public on fisheries issues?
The South Atlantic Fisheries Coordination Office has for many years been
active in providing outreach to civic and conservation groups, to
schools, and to the general public. For the past several years,
the office has hosted a “Take-A-Kid Fishing” event in North Carolina
and in Florida.
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