ACCESS NUMBER: 30949 

STUDY TITLE: Boating Uses, Economic Significance, and Information Inventory for 

North Carolina’s Offshore Area, “The Point.” 

REPORT TITLE: Boating Uses, Economic Significance, and Information for North 

Carolina’s Offshore Area “The Point.” Volume I: Characterization of Recreational and 

Commercial Fisheries at “The Point”- Offshore North Carolina 

CONTRACT NUMBER: 1435-01-98-CA-30949 

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Gulf of Mexico 

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): Mid and South Atlantic 

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: 1999-2000 

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: August 2002 

COST(S); FY 1999 $62,350; FY 2000 $1,945.25; CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST 

$64,295.25 

PROJECT MANAGERS(S): Steve Ross 

AFFILIATION: North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve 

ADDRESS: National Estuarine Research Reserve, 7205 Wrightsville Avenue, 

Wilmington, NC 28403 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S): M. Currin and S. Ross 

KEY WORDS: The Point, recreational fishing, commercial fishing 

BACKGROUND: North Carolina’s position on the east coast, along with the shape and 

structure of its coastline, and its extensive estuarine system create a diversity of fishing 

opportunities for the state’s fishers. Geographically, North Carolina’s coastline is unique 

compared to other east coast states. Three "capes" (Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout and 

Cape Fear) protrude from the mainland. A “bay” or scalloped feature in the coastline 

(Figure 1) separates each of these capes and sandy shoals extend into the Atlantic for 

about 20 miles off each cape. The shoals provide shallow-water habitat far offshore 

and affect coastal currents. These shallow shoals are partly responsible for North 

Carolina's reputation as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." The many shipwrecks, artificial 

reefs, natural rock formations and live bottoms that exist offshore, provide habitat for 

invertebrates and fishes. Fishers seeking bottomfish and structure orienting pelagics 

often target these areas. 

The northern-most cape, Cape Hatteras, projects eastward into the Atlantic Ocean 

making it the land-mass closest to the Gulf Stream anywhere north of Florida. This 
ACCESS NUMBER: 30949 

proximity to the Gulf Stream supports large recreational and commercial fisheries for 

highly desirable pelagic species. A growing offshore charter boat industry has operated 

on the outer banks since 1937 (Cleveland, 1984), targeting bluewater gamefish such as 

billfish, tunas, wahoo and dolphin. An ever-growing private boat fleet also seeks the 

same species. 

North of Cape Hatteras, approximately 30 miles east of the town of Salvo, exists a 

steeply sloping bathymetric feature known as The Point. In this area, the southward 

flowing coldwater Labrador Current meets the northward flowing, warmwater Gulf 

Stream. The Gulf Stream, one of the largest and most powerful ocean currents, 

originates in the Gulf of Mexico and generally tracks the 100 fathom (183 m) curve 

along the east coast of the United States until it reaches the Cape Hatteras area off 

North Carolina, where it begins a northeastward flow across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Although the Gulf Stream meanders unpredictably, this northeastward bend generally 

occurs in the vicinity of The Point. 

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the geographic extent of 

the area known as The Point; to identify and characterize the primary users of The 

Point, and to determine the extent of, and seasonality of their use. 

DESCRIPTION: To accomplish the objectives of this study, a four pronged approach 

was chosen. First, the likely users of the area were determined by contacting resource 

agencies and fishers who were known to use the area extensively. Recreational and 

commercial fishers were identified as the primary user groups. Second, a directed 

survey was designed to define the area and estimate the use and seasonality of use by 

commercial fishers and charter boat captains. Thirdly, data from the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS), Marine Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey (MRFSS) 

were obtained to augment the charter boat survey and to characterize the use by 

private boaters. And fourth, data from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries' Trip Ticket 

Program (TTP) were obtained to augment the survey of commercial fishers. A large 

portion of the commercial and recreational offshore fishing effort on North Carolina’s 

northern outer banks takes place near The Point. For reasons that are not totally 

understood, this area aggregates and holds a diverse assemblage of fish for a large 

part of the year. Commercially, these fishes tend to be species of high value like tunas, 

dolphin, king mackerel, swordfish, and sharks and Dare County commercial catches of 

offshore species dominate the state’s landings. Many of these same species, along 

with billfish, are highly prized by recreational anglers for their size, strength and food 

value and catches from Manteo area charter and private boats also dominate the 

State’s recreational landings. 

SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: Although our knowledge of the region called The Point

needs to be more complete, we now have a good idea of the geographical extent of this 

area used so extensively by recreational and commercial fishers. We have determined 

that The Point is effectively a large area defined perhaps by the interaction of poorly 

understood biological and oceanographic parameters. We also have a better idea of 

the extent and timing of the fisher’s use. And we know what species of fishes attract 
ACCESS NUMBER: 30949 

fishers to the area. With the appropriate economic data, we may now be able to 

estimate the impact that recreational fishing at The Point has on the outer bank’s 

economy. 

STUDY RESULTS: A large portion of the commercial and recreational offshore fishing 

effort on North Carolina’s northern outer banks takes place near The Point. For reasons 

that are not totally understood, this area aggregates and holds a diverse assemblage of 

fish for a large part of the year. Commercially, these fishes tend to be species of high 

value like tunas, dolphin, king mackerel, swordfish, and sharks and Dare County 

commercial catches of offshore species dominate the state’s landings. Many of these 

same species, along with billfish, are highly prized by recreational anglers for their size, 

strength and food value and catches from Manteo area charter and private boats also 

dominate the state’s recreational landings. 

Other research has clearly documented the uniqueness of the oceanography, geology 

and biology, especially on the bottom near the proposed exploratory well. Evidence 

suggests that this region could contain one of the most productive sections of watercolumn along the U.S. east coast. The Point’s productivity and uniqueness need to be 

more explicitly verified and quantified and we need to better understand how and what 

mechanisms control the dynamic biological activity at The Point. 

STUDY PRODUCTS(S): Currin, M. and S. Ross. 2002. Boating Uses, Economic 

Significance, and Information for North Carolina’s Offshore Area “The Point.” Volume I: 

Characterization of Recreational and Commercial Fisheries at “The Point”- Offshore 

North Carolina. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico 

OCS Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study MMS 2002-044. 60 pp.