RALEIGH, N.C. -- The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission is expected to vote at its August meeting on a new amendment pertaining to shrimp trawling, but some critics say the commission's proposed changes do not do enough to prevent the bycatch of juvenile fish and might negatively affect small shrimp businesses.

Dr. Louis Daniel, senior marine scientist for the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, said there are options to reduce bycatch from the huge nets, some hundreds of feet in length, trawlers use to scoop up shrimp.

"Smaller trawls, fewer days to fish and shorter periods of time during the day when they can fish will help to prevent harvest of juvenile fish," Daniel outlined. "We're trying to look out for what's in the best interest of the fishery, and the resource. Those options are not included in the draft Amendment 2."

He noted the North Carolina Wildlife Federation submitted public comments to demonstrate how the amendment fails to protect the fishery and fails to follow the science on ecosystem protection, but added those suggestions have been ignored.

Daniel emphasized the damage from commercial nets is depleting the state's natural resources, and pointed out no other state allows industrial trawling in nursery areas.

"And in many instances and in most cases, for every pound of shrimp they catch, they discard four to five pounds of juvenile fin fish that will never spawn, never contribute to the population," Daniel asserted.

He cautioned one change the commission is considering would likely financially impact small shrimp businesses.

"The only substantive resource-based recommendation coming out of Amendment 2 is a total closure of in-shore shrimping," Daniel remarked. "Which would be devastating to the small-time shrimpers in North Carolina, the family-owned shrimp businesses."

North Carolina's wild-caught seafood industry contributes nearly $300 million and thousands of jobs to the state's economy, according to data from North Carolina State University.

WARREN, Pa. -- A temporary animal-feeding ban is being proposed for the Allegheny National Forest after a captive deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in nearby Warren County.

The disease, first detected in Pennsylvania in 2012, attacks the brain and causes overall wasting of the affected animal, often deer or elk. The latest CWD case, in May, prompted the state to establish a fifth Disease Management Area (DMA), where feeding is banned for at least five years and deer within and surrounding the area are tested for the disease frequently.

Andrea Korman, chronic wasting disease biologist at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, recommended never feeding wild animals, even if it was not banned.

"We do know it increases transmission of all diseases, not just CWD," Korman reported. "It changes behavior of deer, it habituates them, it makes them more likely to be struck by a vehicle. They're also more likely to get parasites and all kinds of other not great consequences, whenever you are feeding them in a non-natural way."

The U.S. Forest Service will accept public comments on the proposed one-year feeding ban through August 13. The agency expects a decision by the end of the month.

For hunters in the region, it's recommended any animals be tested for CWD.

Scott Weber, interagency liaison with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Wildlife Futures Program at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, advised if the test is positive, the meat should not be consumed. He added it is important to dispose of the animal properly, in a landfill, to prevent any further spread of the disease.

"When you see a clinical case identified, it's really just the tip of the iceberg," Weber explained. "Because that clinical case at the top of the iceberg is really, essentially, hiding that below it are all these other infections that are going on, that are being undetected until they show these clinical signs."

The Game Commission has a CWD hotline where the public can ask questions and report sightings of deer or elk that appear to be sick: 833-463-6293.

BOSTON -- A new survey finds widespread public support up and down the East Coast for protecting right whales from getting tangled up in fishing gear, specifically, the vertical lines that connect lobster and crab traps from the sea floor to the surface.

Katharine Deuel, marine conservation officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts, which released the poll, said nine of 10 East Coast residents surveyed said it is important for the government to protect right whales.

"The North Atlantic Right Whale is a species that is currently in crisis," Deuel explained. "It is a critically endangered species, and there are only about 350 individual right whales left swimming in our waters."

Deuel added more than 70% of respondents support closing high-risk areas for whales to certain fishing gear, and nearly 90% support fishermen using gear that doesn't harm whales, which is becoming more widely available.

She pointed out such solutions can allow right whales and fishermen to coexist, and her group is among those that filed an emergency action petition with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts, which also joined the petition, added there have been 34 confirmed deaths of right whales in U.S. and Canadian waters in the last four years.

He noted said even when whales do not die, getting caught up in vertical lines can cause them major stress.

"Scientists actually believe that it is one of the causes of declining birth rates among the right whale population, the sort of stress of these encounters is actually making it harder for them to reproduce," Hellerstein reported.

Hellerstein stated there is something about North Atlantic right whales that resonates with people.

"You know, these animals are gentle giants," Hellerstein remarked. "They grow to be about the size of a school bus, and yet they feed almost entirely off of these small crustaceans."

The emergency action petition recommends prohibiting fishing with vertical lines in a few specific locations with the highest likelihood of right whale entanglement, one yearlong closure south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and five seasonal closures off the coast of Maine.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A bill just introduced in the U.S, Senate would help thousands of species stay off the Endangered Species List - including bighorn sheep, golden eagles and the Lahontan cutthroat trout in Nevada.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act would put $1.4 billion a year toward conservation efforts. Almost 25 million of that would go to Nevada.

Russell Kuhlman, executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, said the funding would save us a bundle going forward.

"It's really that an ounce of prevention is equal to a pound of cure," said Kuhlman. "In the long run, it's going to save us from spending even more money to bring them back essentially from the edge of extinction."

The bill was introduced in the U.S, House of Representatives in April but has yet to receive a hearing or a vote.

Kulhman said the money would help state, tribal and federal agencies work together to take species from one state and replenish populations elsewhere.

"Nevada was the source population that helped reintroduce desert sheep throughout the West," said Kuhlman. "And we were able to take the healthy population of sheep that we had and share them with Arizona and Utah as well. "

Gila monsters, for example, are rarely seen in Nevada these days. But Kuhlman said he hopes this bill would allow wildlife managers in New Mexico to help re-establish the lizards in the Silver State.