Press Releases

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding individuals interested in leasing public coastal waters to cultivate shellfish that the 2026 Shellfish Lease & Aquaculture Program application period closes Aug. 1, 2026.

The NC Division of Marine Fisheries has asked to withdraw the Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application for Red Snapper that would have allowed a 62-day recreational season from July 1 through Aug. 31. Until further notice, it remains unlawful to possess Red Snapper taken from North Carolina waters or from federal waters.

The Habitat and Water Quality Advisory Committee to the NC Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Thursday, June 25 at the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City.

The Habitat and Water Quality Advisory Committee to the NC Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Thursday, June 25 at the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City.

Fifteen lucky anglers won $100 each in a yearly drawing held by the NC Division of Marine Fisheries’ Multi-Species Tagging Program

Eleven new and amended Marine Fisheries Commission rules are now in effect, including rules pertaining to False Albacore management, pot marking requirements, shellfish leases and franchises and various permits.

The 2026 recreational flounder season will open Sept. 1-14 in Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters of the state.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified a new state record for the Graysby Grouper (Cephalopholis cruentata).

The N.C. Artificial Reef Program this month completed two major reef enhancements at offshore reefs off Cape Hatteras and off Ocracoke.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Red Snapper South Atlantic Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) for southeastern states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, are no longer in effect until further order from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The recreational harvest of Red Snapper in the South Atlantic remains closed.

The N.C. Coastal Habitat Protection Plan Steering Committee will meet by web conference from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 27.

On May 25, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) will reopen some internal fishing waters to gill nets managed under the State’s Endangered Species Act Section 10 Incidental Take Permit (ITP).

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) this week voted to begin the rulemaking process for a five-fish recreational bag limit for Atlantic Bonito.

Have questions about the upcoming Red Snapper season? The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries has answers in an FAQ list on its Red Snapper Season webpage.

The recreational Red Snapper season will open for 62 days this summer for anglers willing to participate in a pilot project to test a data collection program that will use a mobile application to monitor the recreational Red Snapper season.