Press Releases

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission today adopted temporary rules to implement mandatory harvest reporting required by a new state law.

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.

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.

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.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in-person May 22-24 at the Beaufort Hotel, 2440 Lennoxville Road, Beaufort, N.C. 28516. The meeting will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission are 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.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet by web conference on April 18, beginning at 11 a.m. The meeting will be livestreamed on Webex. A listening station will be established at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office at 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists and other interested parties to sit on the Shellfish Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee, specifically for Eastern oyster and hard clam.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet by web conference on April 18, beginning at 11 a.m. The meeting will be livestreamed on Webex.

Fishermen purchasing or renewing fishing licenses or vessel registrations at Division of Marine Fisheries offices can now use their credit cards for payment.

Eighty readopted marine fisheries rules become effective today, though these rules should have minimal impact on fishing practices. The rules pertain to standards for commercial shellfish sanitation and processing procedures, and most of the amendments simply codify existing practices or regulations already implemented via proclamation.

Three advisory committees of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in April to discuss a proposal to protect Submerged Aquatic Vegetation through shrimp trawl area closures. The meetings will be held in person and livestreamed on YouTube.

The Division of Marine Fisheries license office in Wilmington will close at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15. The office will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday March 18.

Are you interested in learning more about southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) in North Carolina? Sign up to attend the North Carolina Southern Flounder Symposium.