Press Releases

The NC Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will hold its quarterly business meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the Holiday Inn Resort Lumina, 1706 N Lumina Ave., Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on YouTube. The one-day meeting will begin at 9 a.m. with a public comment period.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ (DMF) peer review workshop for the Blue Crab stock assessment ended today. The workshop session that was scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow has been cancelled.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public informational meeting on establishing a new estuarine artificial reef in Albemarle Sound. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, 2026, in Room 110 at the College of the Albemarle, 205 US-64, Manteo, N.C. 27954.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, on proposed shellfish leases in Onslow County. The hearing will be held at the Holly Ridge Community Center, 404 Sound Road, Holly Ridge, N.C. 28445, and by Webex.

The 2027 commercial Spot season will close Jan. 1 through April 28 in Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters of the state, a change from dates set for the 2021-2026 commercial Spot season closures.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office (SEO) is requesting proposals statewide until Nov. 24, 2026, for energy efficient building upgrade projects.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint today released the White Oak River Basin Action Strategy, a comprehensive framework to support flood resilience planning and decision-making across the basin.

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold fall local advisory committee meetings Nov. 9 through Dec. 3 for the following reserve sites. All meetings are open to the public.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is accepting applications for approximately $2.5 million in funding through Phases 3 and 4 of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP) to help coastal communities design and implement projects that strengthen local resilience to coastal hazards. Applications are due Nov. 10, 2026, by 5 p.m. 

Today, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) celebrated, alongside the City of Hendersonville, the completion of the city’s Lower Mud Creek Floodplain Restoration project, which transforms 27 acres of city-owned floodplain along Mud Creek into restored wetlands, streams, floodplain habitat and publicly accessible green space.

The N.C. Oil and Gas Commission will meet in Raleigh on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, for its regular quarterly meeting. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, on a proposed water column lease in Pamlico County. The hearing will be held at the Patsy H. Sadler Room of the Pamlico County Courthouse, 202 Main St., Bayboro, N.C. 28515, and through Webex.

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today lifted water quality swimming advisories at two sound-side sites in Carteret County, the advisories were lifted because water testing shows that bacteria levels have dropped below the state’s and Environmental Protection Agency’s standards set for swimming and water play.

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold fall local advisory committee meetings Nov. 9 through Dec. 3 for the following reserve sites. All meetings are open to the public.