The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries has extended the mechanical oyster harvest season in portions of Pamlico Sound as the result of adaptive management measures that included collaboration with stakeholders.
Amendment 5 to the N.C. Oyster Fishery Management Plan included a provision to link mechanical oyster harvest management in Pamlico Sound to the Division’s extensive cultch planting efforts, determining season length based on pre- and mid-season sampling of oyster resources.
The Division’s annual mid-season sampling of the mechanical oyster harvest areas showed the numbers of legal sized oysters in several management areas of the Pamlico Sound met the management thresholds established in Amendment 5 to extend the season. This sampling was conducted in direct collaboration with commercial fishermen who helped the Division identify sampling sites in areas used by the industry.
As a result, the Division extended mechanical harvest opportunities beginning December 15, 2025, while maintaining closures in designated Deep-Water Oyster Recovery Areas to protect sensitive habitat. For more specifics, see Proclamation SF-7-2025.
Amendment 5 also includes select rotational harvest cultch sites, which remain open for the entirety of the mechanical harvest season through March 31, 2026. Click here for more information on the Amendment 5 framework.
For current oyster harvest seasons and restrictions see: