Press Releases

State recreational water quality officials today lifted a water quality swimming advisory at an ocean-side site in Dare County.

State recreational water quality officials today lifted a water quality swimming advisory at a sound-side site in New Hanover County.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is developing Amendment 2 to the N.C. Striped Mullet Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The division will hold a public scoping period Sept. 26 to Oct. 7 to solicit public input on potential management strategies for the upcoming amendment and discuss stakeholder priorities. Scoping is the best opportunity for the public to inform the plan.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified a new state record swordfish (Xiphias gladius).

Eight newly readopted Marine Fisheries Commission rules become effective today, but fishermen will not see any difference.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will collect flounder carcasses of legal size (15 inches or greater) from recreational fishermen during the upcoming recreational flounder season.

An advisory against swimming was posted today at an ocean-side site in Dare County, where state recreational water quality officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state’s and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards.

Nineteen rules go into effect as of Aug. 23, including amendments pertaining to reducing shellfish lease user conflicts, repackaging foreign crab meat, and limiting certain gears on state ocean artificial reefs. The rules were amended and readopted under a state mandated periodic review schedule.

Regional partners, led by the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP), have published an updated map of the extent of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in North Carolina’s sounds during 2020. SAV, also known as seagrasses or underwater grasses, improve water quality, decrease shoreline erosion, and are an essential habitat for many fishery and wildlife species.