Fisheries officials plan to implement management changes for sheepshead because of increased fishing pressure in recent years, particularly on juvenile fish, and are seeking public input on potential management strategies.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will accept comments on potential management strategies in writing by 5 p.m. Nov. 5, or during a hybrid virtual and in-person public hearing scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4 at the division’s Morehead City Headquarters Office.
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Written comments may be submitted by an online form, by mail to Sheepshead Public Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557, or delivered to the division’s Morehead City office.
The division implemented sheepshead management at the state level in 2015 after the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council removed the species from its Snapper-Grouper recreational bag limit aggregate in 2012.
Current state regulations for sheepshead are a minimum size limit of 10 inches fork length, a recreational bag limit of 10 fish per person per day, and a commercial trip limit of 300 pounds per trip except for gigs and spears, which is 10 per person, per day or trip, whichever is more restrictive. Pound nets are exempt from the trip limit.
“There was an initial drop in recreational and commercial landings after state management was implemented; however, effort and landings have increased in recent years. Additionally, most harvested fish are juveniles, which can be indicative of a stock that is under stress. These trends have prompted fisheries managers to develop proactive management to prevent overfishing,” officials said.
The division is considering one or more of the following management strategies:
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- Changes to minimum size limit.
- Changes to recreational bag limit.
- Recreational vessel limits.
- Changes to commercial trip limit.
Visit the Proactive Sheepshead Management webpage on the division’s website for more information.
