Forty-three readopted fisheries rules become effective today, but fishermen will see very little change.
The rules, readopted under a state-mandated periodic review schedule, are a portion of existing fisheries rules in 15A NCAC 03I, 03J, 03L, 03M, and 18A.
Most of the rules pertain to sanitation standards for commercial crustacea processing procedures and contain minor updates.
Other changes pertain to rules for interjurisdictional species and remove harvest requirements that are out of date, relying on proclamations instead to respond to interstate and federal management changes.
Several rules about general requirements and fishing gears contain only minor grammatical changes.
Full text of the rules can be found in the April 1, 2022 Supplement to the 2020 N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Rulebook at https://deq.nc.gov//DMF-Rules.
The rules were readopted by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission at its February 2022 meeting.
Thirteen other rules adopted at the February commission meeting are under a mandatory legislative review period and will not become effective until at least the 30th legislative day of the 2022 short session of the N.C. General Assembly. These rules include amendments to three rules in 15A NCAC 03L and 18A that will prohibit the repacking of foreign crab meat in North Carolina.
For questions about these rules, email Catherine Blum, rules coordinator for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.