Press Releases

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet by web conference on June 6 at 11 a.m. The meeting will be livestreamed on Webex. A listening station will be established at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office at 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission agreed this week that the Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Marine Fisheries should take a broader look at the protection of submerged aquatic vegetation.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Water Resources (DWR) reminds the public to avoid contact with discolored water that could indicate the presence of an algal bloom.

In order to preserve the southern flounder resource, the North Carolina recreational flounder season will not open for harvest in 2024. Estimates from 2023 indicate the recreational catch exceeded the quota allowed under a stock rebuilding plan that was included in Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan and adopted by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.

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

The Viable Utility Committee of the State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet via teleconference on Wednesday, May 22, from 2-4 p.m. The public may listen to the meeting online or by phone.

The Wastewater Pollution Control System Operator Certification Commission (WPCSOCC) is receiving nominations for its annual Wilbur E. Long Jr. Operator of the Year Award Nomination.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has approved a certificate of coverage to allow BlueGreen Water Technologies to conduct a pilot study of a treatment for cyanobacteria within a limited area of Lake Mattamuskeet, the state’s largest freshwater lake, starting on June 1.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission are still accepting public comments on temporary rules to implement mandatory harvest reporting requirements passed by the N.C. General Assembly in Session Law 2023-137, Section 6. The comment period will close at 5 p.m. May 20, 2024.

An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in Carteret 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.