The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will meet Aug. 19-20 at the Doubletree by Hilton Raleigh Midtown, 2805 Highwoods Blvd., Raleigh, NC, 27604. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on YouTube.
The meeting will begin at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 19, and at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. The MFC will accept public comments beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday and at 9 a.m. Thursday.
For the in-person public comment sessions:
- Sign up at the hotel prior to the public comment sessions.
- To facilitate the meeting, and to accommodate as many speakers as possible, the chair will limit each speaker to 3 minutes.
- Those making comments will be asked to speak only once, either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, but not during both public comment periods.
- Those who wish to provide handouts to the MFC during the public comment period should bring at least 12 copies to the meeting.
The public may also submit written comments via:
- An online form on the MFC Meetings webpage.
- Mail to MFC Meeting Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.
- A hard copy dropped off at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Morehead City Headquarters Office at 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City.
The deadline to submit written comments for this meeting is 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17.
The Commission is scheduled to vote on:
- Sending the draft Coastal Habitat Protection Plan 2026 Amendment out for public and advisory committee review.
- Approving the final determination of 335 MFC rules as necessary under a mandatory periodic review of existing rules (NCGS 150B-21.3A), which requires state agencies to review existing rules every 10 years.
- Setting the number of licenses in the Standard Commercial Fishing License Eligibility Pool for the 2026-2027 License Year.
- Electing a vice chair.
Other agenda items include information on:
- The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ Annual Fishery Management Plan Review and accompanying draft Fishery Management Plan Review Schedule.
- Summary of NC Kingfishes Stock Complex data analysis to aid in the review of the Kingfishes Fishery Management Plan.
A full agenda and meeting materials, as well as a link to the YouTube livestream, are available on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.