Anglers who catch Bluefin Tuna and billfishes in North Carolina no longer need to report those catches to the state. As of today, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries has discontinued its Highly Migratory Species Catch Card Program.
Federal HMS Angling, HMS Charter/Headboat and Atlantic Tunas permit holders in North Carolina should now report their landings and dead discards directly to the National Marine Fisheries Service using one of the electronic options detailed below within 24 hours of completing the fishing trip.
- Online at the HMS Permit Shop;
- Via the HMS Catch Reporting smartphone app;
- By calling the HMS Permit Shop Customer Service Line at (888) 872-8862.
HMS Permit holders in North Carolina have been notified of this change by mail.
The NCDEQ Division of Marine Fisheries started the HMS Catch Card Program more than 25 years ago to help with federal data collection. At the time, there was no federal electronic reporting system. Today, however, the electronic reporting system is more efficient.
Anglers are still required to hold a valid Atlantic HMS permit to fish for or keep Atlantic tunas, billfishes, swordfish and sharks in federal and state waters.
Additionally, Atlantic HMS permit holders who also possess Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) or Southeast For-Hire permits that require the submission of vessel trip or logbook reports will not be required to submit separate HMS catch reports if they are using the reporting platforms listed below, so long as their trip reports are submitted within 24 hours of completing the trip:
- ACCSP’s SAFIS eTrips - for both GARFO and Southeast For-Hire permit holders;
- Bluefin Data LLC’s VESL program - for Southeast Hor-Hire Permit holders only.
Atlantic HMS permit holders reporting via SAFIS eTrips will need to:
- List each harvested swordfish or billfish, and each caught bluefin tuna (landed or discarded dead) individually within their trip report and report the weight of each fish in pounds rather than number caught.
- This will require the angler to change the Unit of Measure from Count to Pounds in SAFIS eTrips.
- Bluefin tuna dead discards must also be reported individually.
More information on HMS reporting requirements can be found online at the HMS Permits website or at the Atlantic HMS Reporting website. For questions, contact Dallis Tucker at Dallis.Tucker@deq.nc.gov or 252-948-3816.