At the next meeting of the governor-appointed commission that manages fisheries in coastal waters, members will consider next steps in the process to approve amendments for southern flounder, eastern oysters, hard clams and spotted seatrout management plans.
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission is to meet at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk in mid-March. The meeting was initially scheduled for Feb. 19-21 but, because of the inclement weather forecast, was postponed.
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The meeting is to begin at 2 p.m. March 12 with a public comment period and adjourn after the second public comment session scheduled for 6 p.m. later that day. Business is to resume at 9 a.m. March 13.
The Division of Marine Fisheries, under the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, acts as staff to the commission and carries out its policies.
During the meeting, commissioners are to review public comment and select preferred management options for Oyster Fishery Management Plan Amendment 5 and Hard Clam Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3.
Members are to hear the 2024 southern flounder preliminary landings update before reviewing draft amendment 4 for the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. The commission is then to vote on sending the document out for public and advisory committee review.
Up for final adoption are the draft amendment 1 to the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan, which is to address overfishing, and the false albacore management plan. Because there are no rules in place to manage false albacore in the state, the rule would provide a way to cap harvest when the false albacore fishery landings exceed a certain threshold.
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Written comments may be submitted by 4 p.m. March 10 through an online form, by mail to Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557, or dropped off at the division’s headquarters at 3441 Arendell St. in Morehead City.
Those who submitted comments for the February meeting need not submit them again.
The full agenda, briefing material and YouTube link to watch the livestream of the meeting will be posted on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.
