MEDIA ADVISORY: Public hearing scheduled for proposed Pender County shellfish leases

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Pender County at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 15. The hearing will be held in-person at Topsail Beach Town Hall, 820 S. Anderson Blvd., Topsail Beach, and by WebEx.

Gator Bay Oyster Company, LLC (Nelson Bullock, agent) has applied for a 0.80-acre bottom lease (No. 22-053BL) in Banks Channel.

Southeast Shellfish, LLC (Grant Steadman and Justin Tuttle, agents) has applied for a 0.97-acre bottom lease (No. 22-056BL) in Banks Channel.

Richard D. Thomas has applied for a 1.30-acre water column lease (No. 22-074WC) over an existing bottom lease (No BL 432) in Waters Bay.

The public may comment on the above lease applications in person at the hearing or by WebEx. To facilitate online comments, the Division is asking those who wish to speak via WebEx to pre-register here by 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. Those who wish to comment in-person should sign up on-site the night of the hearing.

Public hearing information, including the web conference link, call-in telephone number, presentation slides, and biological investigation reports can be found here.

The public may also comment on the proposed shellfish leases in writing. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 16 and may be submitted two ways:

1. Online Comments – Written comments will be accepted through an online form available here.
2. Mailed Comments – Written comments may be mailed to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Shellfish Leases, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.

For more information, contact Marla Chuffo, with the division’s Habitat and Enhancement Section, at 252-808-8048 or Marla.Chuffo@ncdenr.gov.