The Joint Law Enforcement Agreement Advisory Group will meet at 5 p.m. June 1 at the Craven County Agricultural Center, 300 Industrial Drive, New Bern.
The advisory group will discuss whether the state should enter into a joint law enforcement agreement with the federal government.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is conducting a 12-month study to determine the possible impacts, costs and benefits of a joint law enforcement agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service, and whether the N.C. General Assembly should authorize the division to enter into an agreement. The division is required, by law, to submit findings of a study on this topic to the General Assembly by Oct. 15. Consultation with an advisory group is part of this process.
In a joint enforcement agreement, the N.C. Marine Patrol would contract with the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement to supplement and enhance federal fisheries law enforcement capabilities. The agreement would be accompanied by an enforcement plan in which both the state and federal agencies agree to a list of priorities and activities to be enforced by state officers. In return, Marine Patrol would receive monetary compensation and training about federal regulations.
A joint enforcement agreement also would allow N.C. Marine Patrol officers to charge fishermen with minor federal offenses, and adjudicate those charges through state district court.
For more information, contact N.C. Marine Patrol Col. Jim Kelley at 252-808-8130 or Jim.M.Kelley@ncdenr.gov.