Frequently Asked Questions about Oyster Amendment 5

Amendment 5 to the Oyster FMP, adopted in May 2025, balances the value of oysters as both a fishery resource and essential habitat by adopting a three-tiered strategy for management of the Pamlico Sound oyster mechanical harvest fishery. The strategy establishes Deep Water Oyster Recovery Areas (DORAs), Cultch Supported Harvest Management, and Rotational Harvest Cultch Sites. 

• The DORAs prioritize the habitat value of oysters by closing these areas to mechanical oyster harvest.
• Cultch Supported Harvest Management balances the habitat and fishery value of oysters 
• Rotational Harvest Cultch Sites prioritize the fishery value of oysters.      

The DORAs will be closed to commercial harvest prior to the start of the 2025–2026 commercial mechanical season in mid-November.

Yes. Bottom dredging in the DORAs will be prohibited via proclamation prior to the mechanical oyster season in 2025–2026; however, this does not prohibit shrimp trawl nets as this gear does not specifically target subtidal oysters and the reef matrix oysters create.

Yes, the DORAs are delineated by already existing navigational buoys and hazard markers. Coordinates will be cited in the DORA closing proclamation.

The intent of the DORAs is to observe the natural rate of vertical height recovery for these vulnerable deep-water oyster reefs. NCDMF has developed a monitoring program that aims to measure how these oyster reefs change over the course of five years without disturbance effects from commercial dredging.

In the next FMP cycle starting in 2030, the MFC will decide whether five years has been sufficient time to allow for recovery or whether other management strategies should be considered for these oyster reefs.

Not necessarily. The intent of the Cultch Supported Harvest management strategy is to reduce uncertainty in season length. Pre-season sampling will occur similarly to prior years, but the initial oyster index gathered from this effort will determine the length of the commercial season for the 10-bushel-per day and 15-bushel-per-day areas. Any areas in the 10-bushel-per-day bays would continue to follow the split open period of the six-week possible season (the first opening on Monday of the week prior to Thanksgiving through the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the second opening on the Monday two weeks before     Christmas). A mid-season sampling event will occur, but if the condition index is less than pre-season sampling, the season length will not be reduced.

Commercial harvesters are encouraged to participate in selection of pre-season and mid-season sampling events. By asking for participation from the industry, NCDMF staff would have a more representative sampling scope of mechanical harvest areas that fishers actively oyster or plan to oyster. Staff intend to reach out to commercial harvesters, but any communication by harvesters is welcome and encouraged. A dedicated e-mail address will be available for harvesters to send coordinates for potential sampling locations for either pre- or mid-season sampling events. 

Participation from commercial stakeholders will be critical for implementation of this strategy. Without input from mechanical harvesters, the NCDMF will rely on knowledge of prior fishing activity and known locations of oyster resources. As a result, pre-season sampling locations may not be representative of potential in-season harvest locations.

No. After the mechanical harvest season begins, one in-season sampling event will occur to potentially extend mechanical harvest for each area. Harvesters will be encouraged to report areas they are actively harvesting to the dedicated e-mail address or phone line to inform in-season sampling locations. In-season sampling will occur prior to the midpoint of the proclaimed season for all four management areas. With the in-season sampling event NCDMF will determine if the initial fixed season would be extended via proclamation. 

If pre-season sampling results in a management area not opening to mechanical harvest due to not meeting the 10% legal oyster threshold for opening, in-season sampling would still occur by January 15 of that mechanical harvest season. Any additional industry input received from harvesters would be used to inform sampling locations. If the in-season sampling event results in a percent legal of 10% or above, the oyster condition index will be used to determine the number of weeks of mechanical harvest allowed via proclamation.

NCDMF’s Habitat & Enhancement Section has been developing large-scale 10-acre cultch sites systematically since 2020. Beginning with the 2025–2026 mechanical harvest commercial season, these cultch sites will be open for the entirety of the season, from the third week of November to March 31st (regardless of pre- or mid-season sampling).

Rotational cultch sites will be distributed across the sound with the goal of having at least four planned for each management area. As of 2024, 13 large sites have been constructed. Sites will open and close via proclamation on a rotational schedule. Additional sites are planned for each management area to enable contingency based substitutions of rotational sites for potentially more successful sites, optimizing harvest opportunities. The goal is to have at least one large rotational cultch site open per management area each season. 

Sites will open and close via proclamation on a rotating basis. Corner coordinates will be cited in opening and closing proclamations. 

The rotational cultch sites are distributed across Pamlico Sound’s four management areas—Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, Neuse with a goal of having 16 sites constructed by 2026. Sites will open and close via proclamation and list the corner coordinates of each site as the closure status rotates.

On average, 93 participants landed oysters with mechanical gear between 2018 and 2023. Any large changes in effort would potentially result in fixed season lengths becoming either inadequate to provide protection to the oyster resource, or too restrictive. If the three-year running average of participants in the mechanical oyster fishery changes by more than 25% (i.e., less than 70 or more than 116 participants), adaptive management would be triggered to re-evaluate the fixed season lengths. Effort and landings data as well as NCDMF mechanical harvest season sampling data will be used to assess the effectiveness of adopted fixed season lengths in relation to the condition of the oyster resource. If adaptive management is triggered, season lengths may be lengthened, shortened, or maintained as previously adopted. For example, if participation drops to a 3-year average of 65 participants and in-season sampling of management areas consistently results in two additional weeks of mechanical harvest being added to the initial proclaimed season length, the season length baseline could be extended to reflect this change.