Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committees to meet Jan. 14

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Resource Fund Committee and the Funding Committee for the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund will meet jointly on Jan. 14, 2026, at 3 p.m. via WebEx.

Members of the public may join the meeting online or by phone. A meeting agenda and WebEx link can be found here. A listening station will be established at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters Office at 3441 Arendell Street, Morehead City.

Agenda items include discussion of renewal of funding for a Division of Marine Fisheries Commercial Statistics Project; and consideration of extending funding for the Always NC Fresh Campaign.

Public comment on issues relating to the commission will not be accepted during the meeting. Members of the public may submit written comments to the commission in two ways:

1. Online – Public comments will be accepted through an online form that can be found here.
2. Mailed Comments – Written comments may be mailed to: January 2026 CFRF Meeting Comments, P.O Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.

Comments for this meeting must be posted online or received by the division office by noon on Monday, Jan 12, 2026.

The Commercial Fishing Resource Fund receives money from an increase in commercial fishing license fees that took effect in 2015. The fund pays for observer coverage to fulfill the state’s obligations under the North Carolina's Endangered Species Act Section 10 Incidental Take Permit for sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon. Any additional money left in the fund is to be used for projects to develop and support sustainable commercial fishing in the state.

Spending for these projects must be approved by the Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committee, which is made up of six commercial fishing representatives, and the Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee, comprised of members of the commission holding the three commercial fishing seats.

For more information, please contact Kathy.Peterson@deq.nc.gov or call 252-515-5470.