Press Releases

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Standard Commercial Fishing License Eligibility Board will meet by teleconference at 10:30 a.m. on April 5. The board will consider license applications that are deemed complete and submitted by March 13.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold an in-person public hearing on a proposed shellfish lease in Pamlico County at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 2 at the Pamlico County Courthouse, Commissioner’s Room, 202 Main Street, Bayboro.
The North Carolina Oil and Gas Commission will meet in the Ground Floor Training Room of the Green Square building, 217 W. Jones St., Raleigh, 27603, on Feb. 7, 2023. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m.
The Viable Utility Committee of the State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet via teleconference on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. The public may listen to the meeting online or by phone.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is extending the public comment period on its Dec. 22, 2022, notice of receipt of North Carolina’s Incidental Take Permit application and conservation plan to address sturgeon and sea turtle interactions in the state’s estuarine anchored gill net fishery. The public comment period will be extended by 30 days to Feb. 22, 2023. Comments previously submitted do not need to be resubmitted.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Carteret County at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15. The hearing will be held in-person at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City, and by WebEx.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced new lead service line replacement funding, made available through the federal Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Applications for the funding will be available in February during the Division of Water Infrastructure’s spring 2023 funding round. The deadline for submitting applications is May 1, 2023.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recently certified a new state record White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii).
On December 22, 2022, National Marine Fisheries Service published in the Federal Register (87 FR 78659) the Notice of Receipt and request for public comments for North Carolina’s Incidental Take Permit application and conservation plan to address sturgeon and sea turtle interactions in the state’s estuarine anchored gill net fishery.
Five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in January. The meetings will be held by WebEx and streamed on YouTube.