NCDEQ Division of Marine Fisheries to hold public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Carteret County Dec. 1

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Carteret County at 6 p.m.  Monday, Dec. 1. The hearing will be held in-person at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 Hwy 70 W, Morehead City, and by Webex.

The public hearing will be about the following proposed shellfish lease applications:

• I. Salts Oyster Company, LLC, Ralph W. Brittingham, Jr. and Ryan D. Salter, has applied for a 6.08-acre shellfish bottom and water column lease in North Bay (25-007BL/25-008WC).
• Rough Atlantic, LLC, Michael T. Dale, has applied for a 6.02-acre shellfish bottom and water column lease in North River (below bridge) (25-032BL/25-033WC).

The areas will be marked at each corner as a Proposed Shellfish Bottom Lease and/or Water Column Lease with the above numbers.

The public may comment on the above lease applications in person at the hearing or by Webex. Those who wish to comment in-person should sign up on-site between 5- 6 p.m. the night of the hearing.

Public hearing information, including the web conference link, call-in telephone number, presentation slides and biological investigation reports can be found at deq.nc.gov/news/events/2025-12-01-carteret-county-shellfish-lease-hearing.

The public may also comment on the proposed shellfish leases in writing.

Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 2 and may be submitted two ways:

1. Online Comments– Written comments will be accepted through an online form available at nc.gov/carteret-county-shellfish-lease-hearing-comment-form
2. Mailed Comments– Written comments may be mailed to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Shellfish Leases, PO Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557-0769.

For more information, contact Mitch Melkonian with the Division of Marine Fisheries Habitat and Enhancement Section at 252-515-5495 or SLAP@deq.nc.gov.