Press Releases

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold an in-person public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Pamlico County at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20 at the Pamlico County Courthouse, Courtroom, 202 Main Street, Bayboro.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Hyde County at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18. The hearing will be held in-person at the Hyde County Government Center, 30 Oyster Creek Road, Swan Quarter and by WebEx.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Carteret County at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. The hearing will be held in-person at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City and by WebEx.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Standard Commercial Fishing License Eligibility Board will meet by teleconference at 10 a.m. Nov. 13. The board will consider one license application that was tabled at the Oct. 25 meeting.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in-person Nov. 15-17 at the Islander Hotel and Resort, 102 Islander Dr., Emerald Isle. The meeting will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Resource Fund Committee and the Funding Committee for the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund will meet jointly by web conference on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.

An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in Beaufort County, where state officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state’s and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Nominating Committee will meet in person and by web conference on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. The in-person meeting will be held at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters Office, 3441 Arendell Street, Morehead City, in the Second Floor Conference Room.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified the first state record Puddingwife Wrasse (Halichoeres radiatus), and the fish may break the world record, as well.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is asking people to please be on the lookout for blue land crabs, Cardisoma guanhumi, and to report sightings.

Blue land crabs are a non-native species to the Carolinas that look like an enormous fiddler crab.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, and other interested parties to sit on various fisheries advisory committees.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is developing Amendment 5 to the N.C. Eastern Oyster Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and Amendment 3 to the N.C. Hard Clam FMP. The division will hold a public scoping period Sept. 11-22 to solicit input on potential management strategies for the upcoming amendments and discuss stakeholder priorities. Scoping is the best opportunity for the public to inform the plan.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified a new state record Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus).

The 2023 recreational flounder season for Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters will open at 12:01 a.m. on Friday Sept. 15, 2023, and will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. The possession limit will be one flounder per person per day.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries will implement adaptive management with a harvest moratorium in the Albemarle Sound Management Area. Despite recent management actions taken by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC), the Albemarle/Roanoke striped bass stock continues to be overfished and to experience overfishing.