MEDIA ADVISORY: Public hearing scheduled for shellfish lease proposals in Craven County

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Craven County at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. The hearing will be held in-person at Craven Community College (Havelock Campus), STEM Building, Room 134, 305 Cunningham Blvd, Havelock and by WebEx.

Charles C. Allen and James T. Chadwick have applied for a 5.18-acre bottom lease (23-036BL) and water column lease (23-037WC) in Adams Creek.

Dominic Vetrano and Karen Penchansky have applied for a 2.85-acre bottom lease (23-048BL) and water column lease (23-049WC) in Adams Creek.

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, July 23. 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 here.

The public may also comment on the proposed shellfish leases in writing. Written comments will be accepted until 6 p.m. Thursday, July 25, 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 252-515-5480 or Marla.Chuffo@deq.nc.gov.

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