Public hearing set for proposed shellfish lease in Dare County

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, 2025, on a proposed shellfish lease in Dare County. The hearing will be held in person at the Dare County Government Office, 954 Marshall C. Collins Drive, Room 168, Manteo, N.C. 27954 and virtually via Webex.

The following lease application will be considered:

Herring Shoal Shellfish Co., LLC (agents William James Clower and Aaron Hopkins), has applied for a 3-acre shellfish bottom and water column lease in Roanoke Sound (Lease Nos. 24-009BL and 24-010WC).

The proposed site will be marked at the corners with signage indicating its status as a Proposed Shellfish Bottom Lease and Water Column Lease and referencing the lease numbers listed above.

Members of the public may comment on the application during the hearing either in person or online. Those wishing to speak via Webex must register by 4 p.m. Monday, May 5, 2025, at deq.nc.gov/dare-county-shellfish-lease-hearing-speaker-registration.

In-person participants may sign up to speak onsite between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the evening of the hearing.

Additional hearing materials — including the Webex link, call-in number, presentation slides, and biological investigation report—are available at: deq.nc.gov/news/events/dare-county-shellfish-lease-hearing.

Written comments will also be accepted until 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, 2025, through the following methods:

For more information, contact Marla Chuffo with the Division’s Habitat and Enhancement Section at 252-515-5480 or marla.chuffo@deq.nc.gov.

At-a-Glance: