Press Releases

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold Fall local advisory committee meetings Dec. 5 through 14 for their ten reserve sites. All meetings are open to the public.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission took action this week to end overfishing of estuarine striped bass and rebuild the stocks by adopting the Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management has awarded more than $1.7 million to nine local governments to improve public access to coastal beaches and waters for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) will meet Nov. 17 at the Beaufort Hotel, 2440 Lennoxville Road, Beaufort. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m., and a public input and comment period is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. At the chair’s discretion, comments may be limited to 3 minutes per person. Prior to the commission meeting, the Coastal Resources Advisory Council (CRAC) will meet Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. at the same location. Both meetings are open to the public.

DAQ is providing more than $11 million in grants to projects that will replace older heavy-duty vehicles and equipment with clean alternatives

The N.C. Division of Coastal Management (DCM) announced today that the application period for local government planning and management grants for the 2022-2023 fiscal year has been extended. Local governments in the 20-county coastal area are invited to apply for funding for projects that are anticipated to begin Dec. 15 and to be completed by June 2023.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) will hold a public hearing on November 14, 2022 at 3:30 p.m., regarding the adoption of Temporary Rules 15A NCAC 01T. The public is invited to offer comments during the hearing or submit written comments through December 2, 2022. The public hearing may be attended in person or online via Webex.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a public hearing on two marine fisheries proposed rules at 1 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City. The hearing was originally scheduled for a Nov. 1 web conference but was cancelled due to technical difficulties.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Resource Fund Committee and the Funding Committee for the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund will meet jointly by web conference on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.