The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission, when it meets this month in Raleigh, is expected to vote on sending out for public and advisory committee review this year’s draft changes to the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan.
The commission is set to meet Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 19-20, at the Doubletree by Hilton Raleigh Midtown, 2805 Highwoods Blvd. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on YouTube.
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The meeting sessions begin at 1 p.m. on Aug. 19, and at 9 a.m., Aug. 20.
The Coastal Habitat Protection Plan was first adopted in 2004 as a long-term roadmap for improving coastal fisheries by protecting, restoring and enhancing critical fish habitats. It’s a requirement of the Fisheries Reform Act of 1997, and it must be updated every five years. While it was amended in 2021, the plan hasn’t been substantially reworked since 2016.
Work on the rewrite began earlier this year.
The commission is also expected to consider approving the final determination of 335 commission rules as part of the mandatory 10-year review of existing state agency rules.
Members are also expected to set the number of licenses in the Standard Commercial Fishing License Eligibility Pool for the 2026-27 license year.
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Electing a vice chair is also on the meeting agenda, in addition to presentations on the following:
- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries’ Annual Fishery Management Plan review and accompanying draft Fishery Management Plan review schedule.
- Summary of North Carolina Kingfishes Stock Complex data analysis to aid in the review of the Kingfishes Fishery Management Plan.
The period for public comments begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday and at 9 a.m. Thursday. Those wishing to speak may do so at either time, but not during both comment periods.
If attending in-person, sign up at the hotel prior to the public comment sessions. To facilitate the meeting, and to accommodate as many speakers as possible, the chair will limit each speaker to three minutes, according to meeting materials. Those who wish to provide handouts to the commission during the public comment period should bring at least 12 copies to the meeting.
The public may also submit written comments via an online form; by mail to: MFC Meeting Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557; or by dropping of a hard copy at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Morehead City Headquarters at 3441 Arendell St. The deadline to submit written comments for this meeting is 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17.
The full agenda and meeting materials, as well as a link to the YouTube livestream, are available on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.
