From the top of the old firetower overlooking Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, the forests appear to stretch to the horizon — with Lake Phelps a far-off line of blue.…
In the greenish-blue waters of Beaufort Inlet, Bill Baily stands on the side of a pilot boat ready to jump ship. As the Rough Point slows down, getting within a few yards of the port side of a U.S. Navy ship, Baily watches the position of his boat.
But some area residents and policymakers believe trawling in the region's narrow waterways unintentionally captures and kills large amounts of commercially valuable fish and invertebrates, known as "bycatch."
