The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will hold its quarterly business meeting on August 20 and 21 at the Hilton Raleigh North Hills, located at 3415 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on YouTube.
The session begins at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, with a public comment period starting at 6 p.m. On Thursday, August 21, proceedings resume at 9 a.m., with another opportunity for public comments at that time.
According to the commission, “Those who wish to speak may sign up at the hotel prior to the public comment period. 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 submit handouts to the commission during the public comment period should bring at least 12 copies to the meeting.”
Written comments can also be submitted using an online form accessible through the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage, by mail addressed to Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557, or dropped off in person at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Morehead City Headquarters Office at 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City. The deadline for submitting written comments is set for 4 p.m. on Monday, August 18.
During this meeting, commissioners are scheduled to vote on several key items including adoption of Amendment 4 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. If approved, this amendment would accelerate sector allocation transition between commercial and recreational fishing from its previously scheduled date in Amendment 3 (2026) up to 2025.
Other votes include setting an annual cap on Standard Commercial Fishing Licenses available through an eligibility pool and electing a vice chair for the commission.
The agenda also features discussions about management issues related to Draft Amendment 5 for Southern Flounder; presentations regarding current trends in both commercial and recreational sectors of North Carolina’s Sheepshead and Black Drum fisheries; and a review of data concerning Striped Bass harvest closures in portions of Neuse and Tar/Pamlico rivers within the Central/Southern Management Area along with considerations about reopening harvest opportunities.
A full agenda and briefing materials are available online via the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage, where a link for live streaming is also posted.
