Keith Richards resigns from Marine Fisheries Commission after Flounder vote

by Cammie Bellamy, Wilmington Star-News, December 5, 2015.

A prominent local chef has resigned from a state fisheries commission after a vote on flounder fishing restrictions that drew angry debate and social media comments.

Keith Rhodes, chef at Wilmington restaurant Catch, resigned his at-large seat on the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. His resignation letter was dated Nov. 20, the last day of the commission’s November meeting, during which members voted for limits on flounder fishing championed by recreational fishermen but vigorously opposed by the commercial fishing industry. He was one of six members of the nine-person commission who supported the final rules.

November’s meeting was Rhodes’ first and last as a seated commissioner after being sworn in in August.

Rhodes said several factors fueled his decision.

“I’m tremendously busy with my schedule,” he said. “Also, I feel like they wanted a voice from the hospitality industry. And we were very flattered to be chosen to be that voice, but at this moment a lot of the issues deal very deeply with the commercial and recreational fishing industry. And for myself, I was just bringing a hospitality side, and my assessment was I didn’t really think that I could contribute as much as I would have liked to.”

Contentious topic

Fishermen say the debate over North Carolina’s southern flounder fishery has drawn venomous reactions from people on both sides of the issue. Rhodes’ place on the commission was contentious since his nomination, when he was endorsed by commercial group the N.C. Fisheries Association (NCFA). President Jerry Schill said some recreational fishermen, fearing Rhodes would vote against flounder restrictions, discussed boycotting his restaurant.

But Rhodes surprised everyone by voting in favor of restrictions. Schill said while he disagreed with Rhodes’ vote, he was sad to see him leave the commission.

“He didn’t do it because of an agenda,” Schill said. “Someone with his experience is very good in an at-large seat … someone that comes from a different perspective but is involved as a buyer of seafood. He believes in sustainability, he believes in local seafood.”

Social media comments

Following the vote, some took to social media to vent their frustration over the issue, broiling within the commission for months.

In a post on a closed Facebook group for the state’s commercial fishermen, a man made a racially-charged comment that appeared to be directed at Rhodes -- the only black member of the commission.

“I listened to most of the circus and never heard him make any comments one way or the other,” the post stated. “Probably get banned for say (sic) it but appears to me that (fellow Commissioner Chuck Laughridge) promised him a truck load of fresh watermelon in return for his support.”

Rhodes said he was aware of social media comments about the vote, but repeated that several factors contributed to his decision.

Schill strongly condemned the inflammatory comment in a reply on the Facebook page.

“You should be banned for making that comment about Keith Rhodes!” Schill wrote. “That is a sorry statement to make. It’s no wonder that this stuff is so contentious! Comments like that are not only indefensible, but make our job at NCFA nearly impossible. God help us all!”

'Absolute circus'

Laughridge said the comment reflected months of hostile fisheries commission meetings. During the November meeting, an audience member was ejected after an outburst and state Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Moore, got into what Laughridge described as a “shouting match” with a fisherman after speaking during the public comment period. He said he felt Chairman Sammy Corbett should have done more to keep the meetings civil.

“I can speak for myself in saying that it was, to me, not acceptable,” Laughridge said. “This started months ago. We’re coming up on basically a year of bad meetings in February. The February meeting was an absolute circus.”

Schill said he hadn’t talked to Rhodes about why he resigned, but he noted that the flounder issue has caused some of the worst fighting among fisherman that he’s seen since he joined the NCFA.

“It’s a bear; it’s very, very difficult for busy people to serve on that commission,” he said. “I started this in 1987 and I’ve never seen it this contentious. That wears on the best of people.”

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