new interpretation of the state rule on keeping cleaned  fish has already gotten some DIFF members in trouble and will likely result in a few more tickets before it gets worked out.
At least two club members were ticketed last fall by N.C. Marine Patrol officers for keeping filleted fish in coolers on the beach. They weren't doing anything that all of us haven't done many times or had received the blessing of the director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
Bill Hogarth, who headed the division in 1993, ruled then, in response to a letter from DIFF, that fishermen in remote locations like Davis Island could fillet and keep fish on which there was a size or bag limit as long as the filets weren't stored in the same cooler with bait or fish that hadn't been cleaned.
Hogarth, though, retired and his predecessor, Preston Pate, has interpreted the cleaning rule strictly with no regard for the special circumstances that fishermen on the island face. In a

letter to B.K. Barringer, DIFF's vice president, in February, Pate noted that the division would allow fishermen to keep several day worth of fillets "at their campsite or motel" as long as they can prove they've been on a fishing trip that long. They also must keep the carcasses to allow officers to take measurements.
No more than one day's creel limit, Pate wrote, can be kept  "in areas where taking fish could occur."
While on the beach, in other words, you'll be ticketed if you have more than one day's catch of fillets in a cooler in your pickup truck or SUV or outside your camper.
DIFF has written Pate, asking him to reconsider. We pointed out the inconvenience of keeping, say, a week's worth of carcasses and the expense involved in icing the carcasses down to prevent them from spoiling. We also noted that  Pate's interpretation will be hardest people who drive campers and recreational vehicles on

the island or sleep in in their pickup trucks. Their vehicles are their campsites and go with them on the beach. Those folks will be violating the law if they can't somehow get each day's catch off the island.
    DIFF also told Pate that the club would be willing to ask the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, which sets all marine fishing rules, to modify the rule.
"The great majority of DIFF members are law-abiding fisherman," we wrote Pate. "Your interpretation of the mutilation rule will, however, turn us into law breaker or liars... we will have to recommend to our members, especially those who camp on the beach in tents or vehicles, that they clean their catch, put the fillets in a hidden cooler and lie to the officer when asked. That's not a position we want to be in."
We've yet to hear back from Pate.

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price. Even the most-recent lab botched the first batch, severely under-exposing the print. The lab technician, who admitted he last worked with a black and white enlarger in photo class, wants to give it another shot.
The result of all this is that we have about a dozen orders for 16 x 20 prints on back order. We have plenty of 8 x10 prints.

Those of you who ordered the large prints, please bear with us a little longer.

Memberships to expire
Remember that the club's annual membership expires July 31. If you haven't sent in your renewal yet, please do so. We will send out gentle reminders in mid-July to those to who forgotten.

Next board meeting
The DIFF Board of Directors will next meet Saturday, July 8, in Raleigh, starting at 10 a.m., at site still to be determined.
If you would like to attend the meeting, call Frank Tursi at 336-766-7480 for directions. You can reach him on the web at ftursi@earthlink.net.