MEDIA ADVISORY: Public hearing scheduled for proposed shellfish leases in Hyde County

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Hyde County at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18. The hearing will be held in-person at the Hyde County Government Center, 30 Oyster Creek Road, Swan Quarter and by WebEx.

JJandB, LLC, (Jennifer Dixon, agent) has applied for a 9.96-acre water column lease in Spencer Bay.

Zack Credle has applied for a 1.26-acre shellfish bottom lease and water column lease in Germantown Bay.

Ocracoke Salt Company, LLC, (Dylan L. Bennink, agent) has applied for a 3.00-acre water column lease in Howard Reef.

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 at  https://deq.nc.gov/hyde-county-shellfish-lease-hearing-speaker-registra… by 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17. Those who wish to comment in-person should sign up on-site between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. 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 at https://deq.nc.gov/news/events/hyde-county-shellfish-lease-hearing.

The public may also comment on the proposed shellfish leases in writing. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 19 and may be submitted two ways:

1. Online Comments – Written comments will be accepted through an online form available at https://deq.nc.gov/hyde-county-shellfish-lease-hearing-comment-form.
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@deq.nc.gov.