Starting July 1, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will enforce the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact Act for marine and estuarine fisheries violations. This action follows a directive from the N.C. General Assembly to implement reciprocal recognition of license suspensions with other participating states.
The proposed rules were adopted by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission in March 2025 and subsequently approved by the Rules Review Commission in May 2025. These rules will apply to violations committed within North Carolina or any other state that is part of the compact, effective from July 1, 2025.
The Act defines “wildlife” as all species protected and regulated by both the Commission and the Division. It aims to provide enhanced flexibility for fair treatment of non-residents involved in wildlife resource violations, including fishing offenses. The new regulations enable consistent accountability for violators, irrespective of their state residency.
Details of these rules are available in the June 1, 2025 Supplement to the 2020 N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Rulebook at https://deq.nc.gov/DMF-Rules.
For further inquiries about these rules, Catherine Blum serves as the rules coordinator for the Division of Marine Fisheries and can be contacted via email.
