The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is counting down the days until its Bicentennial Jamboree!
Three weeks from Saturday, on June 10, the campus at the Morehead City Headquarters Office will transform into a celebration of 200 years of state marine fisheries management and conservation in North Carolina.
With more than 30 exhibits and food trucks, there will be lots to see and do. Just to name a few:
- A touch tank and a marsh tank with live critters;
- A fish house display, quiz boards and fishing games;
- Mock water rescues by the Marine Patrol’s Swift Water Rescue Team;
- Demonstrations on how to throw a cast net and rig fishing rods;
- Tours of the living shoreline at Carteret Community College;
- Vessel viewing and gear displays;
- Activities, such as learning how to tell the age of a fish;
- Details about how to participate in citizen science programs; and
- Information on how to become part of the Division of Marine Fisheries team.
One of the highlights will be a Jamboree Passport raffle for youths up to age 18. Participants will visit the exhibits listed on the passport to get a stamp, then return the stamped passports to be entered into a drawing for a Lifetime Coastal Recreational Fishing License.
Several other environmental agencies and museums will exhibit, as well.
Get a full description of events on the Bicentennial Jamboree webpage.
The Bicentennial Jamboree is part of a year-long celebration commemorating the passage of the first statewide marine fisheries law in North Carolina.
On Dec. 30, 1822, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law titled An Act to Prevent the Destruction of Oysters, and for Other Purposes, in the State that restricted oyster harvest gear and prohibited the export of North Carolina oysters to other states.
This and numerous subsequent laws passed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eventually led to the establishment of what is now the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries and the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission.