Strategic Plan outlines goals for Coastal Recreational Fishing License funding
To guide expenditures funded by the N.C. Marine Resources Fund and N.C. Marine Resources Endowment Fund, the Division of Marine Fisheries developed a strategic plan to ensure the funds are used consistently as outlined in state law. Goal 1 of the strategic plan focuses on Marine Resources and Habitat Management, while Goal 2 is directed at Access and Education.
GOAL 1: Marine Resources and Habitat Management
Support research, surveys, and investigations that provide essential information for the management of marine resources and habitats, including administrative and compliance activities necessary to obtain management objectives.
Objective 1: Enhance Research and Monitoring
Each year, following review of the Division of Marine Fisheries Stock Status Report, the Biological Review Team (an internal panel of biologists and other fisheries specialists) prioritizes research needs within a document entitled The Research Priorities for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. Considered within this list of research priorities are projects identified as important within the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan. Recent top priority issues were: oyster restoration, establishment of living shorelines, sedimentation impacts, and generating habitat metrics. Habitat research priorities include topics that address these priority issues as well as other research related to ecosystem functions and threats.
Objective 2: Enhance Compliance
Enhanced compliance ensures that anglers comply with general statutes and rules that are developed to protect and regulate the harvest of the state’s fisheries. Fair and consistent law enforcement is a cornerstone to any implemented marine resource management measure to protect fishery stocks and habitats supporting these stocks. Enforcing coastal fishing activities includes air, ground, and boat patrol investigations. Effective law enforcement is also dependent on state-of-the-art enforcement resources and training, administrative, technical, and communications support to officers.
Objective 3: Support Fisheries Operations and Infrastructure
Support for infrastructure and administrative (technical, communication, and training) operations is essential to address the objectives of enhanced research and monitoring. Basic infrastructure needs include field sampling vessels and gear, as well as operational support for technical and analytical staff. The critical nature and support of these operations have been legitimized by legislative mandates that provide operational support for staff. This includes, but is not limited to, operational support for license sales, support staff and management of the coastal recreational fishing license funds, and technical infrastructure to house and process data for long-term data support, analysis, and data collection needs.
GOAL 2: Access and Education
Enhance public fishing access and angling opportunities and support public outreach and education that are essential to management of marine resources and habitats
Objective 1: Provide Access to Marine Resources and Angling Opportunities
The residents of North Carolina, especially the recreational fishing community will benefit from improved access and angling opportunities. Additional public access sites including boat ramps, fishing piers, beach access, and more accessible habitat enhancements such as artificial and other fishing reefs are to be constructed to support and provide broader use of these resources. Careful consideration of habitat disturbance during design and construction of new access structures is necessary, and projects should seek to restore areas of degraded habitat when possible. Coastal access projects should be considered within a larger conservation blueprint that recognizes the need to limit environmental impacts while also providing for recreational opportunities. Collaboration with other agencies including the Department of Transportation, the Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Department of Environmental Quality, will result in multiple use facilities at locations already owned by the State.
Objective 2: Improve Public Information, Education, and Enrichment
Recreational fishing effort in North Carolina is at an all-time high. North Carolina is one of the top states in the country in the numbers and poundage of recreationally-caught fish from coastal fishing waters. As coastal populations and visitation continue to increase, it is imperative that our angling constituency and North Carolina residents in general understand the dynamics of our fisheries management programs, observe conservation-based fishing practices, and become stewards of the resource. It is important to deliver products and services such as workshops, clinics, recognition programs, charitable educational opportunities, and materials to meet the expectations of the recreational fishing community.