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NCFA UPDATE FOR June 30, 2025: H.B. 442 Background/Current Status
House Bill 442 was introduced in March of 2025 by Representative Frank Iler from Brunswick County. The purpose of the bill was to address the concerns of many of Representative Iler’s constituents regarding the extremely limited access to the Southern Flounder and Red Snapper fisheries. The first edition of the bill (H.B. 442 Original Draft) had some significant issues such as referring to Summer Flounder, rather than Southern Flounder, and requiring the state to amend the Red Snapper Fishery Management Plan, which the state does not have, etc. NCFA reached out to Representative Iler, pointing out the problems with the bill and questioned why H.B. 442 only sought to increase recreational access to flounder, rather than providing both sectors some relief. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:43
NCFA UPDATE 6/27/2025: Thank You!
The North Carolina Fisheries Association would like to say, Thank You! Thank You to the many members of the North Carolina House of Representatives and the four Senators who stood strong for North Carolina’s seafood producers! Words cannot begin to express our true and sincere appreciation for the bipartisan support we received from NC House members. During our conversations, one thing became painfully clear, most folks don’t really know what we do and, more importantly, what we don’t do. That’s a hurdle we intend to overcome through outreach and education of the general public and our elected officials. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:00
NCFA UPDATE FOR June 25, 2025: THE TRAWL BAN HAS BEEN DEFEATED
After a long two weeks of emails, calls, one on one conversations, and driving to Raleigh we have come together and defeated the trawl ban! Today, at 3:00 our beloved coastal legislators emerged from caucus and let hundreds of people waiting outside know that HB 442 “Trawl Ban” bill is dead! Thank you all again for coming out and standing together to support each other! We could not have done this without your support in this tremendous David vs. Goliath battle! NCFA Staff 16:30
NCFA Update for June 17, 2025: W/ Part2, Contact Senators. Urgent Call to Action – Trawel Ban has passed Commitee
An amendment to H.B. 442 has passed Committee and will likely be passed by the full Senate with language to ban shrimp trawling in all inside waters and ½ mile off the beach! This trawl ban has been fast tracked, and we need you to contact your House of Representative members right now! This Bill is very likely to pass in full Senate either by the time you read this or by the end of the day tomorrow (Tuesday)! We ask as many of you as possible to also be ready to head to Raleigh and face this issue head on before it goes before the House of Representatives for a final vote! Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:30
Part 2 Add On-CONTACT SENATORS!!!!!!!! Contact your Senator from your county and let them know you oppose this bill! Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:10
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR June 16, 2025: An Urgent Call to Action. Trawl Ban Legislation Tomorrow
An amendment to H.B. 442 includes language to ban shrimp trawling in all inside waters and ½ mile off the beach! This amendment with the language below will be read and voted on tomorrow (Tuesday, June 17th) at 10:00am in the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee. ROHIBIT SHRIMP TRAWLING IN ALL INSHORE FISHING WATERS AND WITHIN ONE-HALF MILE OF THE SHORELINE SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 113-187(d) reads as rewritten: more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:37
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR May 30, 2025 – 50/50 Quota Reallocation or Odds Recreational Fishermen Will Get A Season
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) voted last week 6-3 to reallocate quota from commercial to recreational to symbolize an “increase recreational access to Southern Flounder”. For more than four years, the CCA has been trying to convince recreational anglers that splitting the Southern Flounder quota 50/50 will allow for a longer recreational harvest season and ensure a season each year, but will it really? At the 50/50 allocation split, the Total Allowed Landings (TAL), or harvest, would be just 266,176 pounds and the Total Allowed Catch (TAC) would be 274,017 pounds for each sector. While this does represent an increase for the recreational sector, is it enough to do any good? more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:42
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR May 27, 2025
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) met last week in Beaufort, NC for their May quarterly meeting. Here is a quick summary of the meeting. Eastern Oysters, Hard Clams, Southern Flounder, Blue crab, Striped Bass, Issues from the Commissioners, Lastly, “Issues from Commissioners” showed their continued goal of restricting access for all, Commissioners Hobgood and Roller were quick to again propose restrictions on Atlantic Bonito as they have at almost every meeting since last May. However, this time they requested the DMF to bring back rule making language for a 5 fish recreational bag limit for Atlantic Bonito. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:54
NCFA Call to Action: House Bill 442 – May 12, 2025
House Bill 442, “Restore Flounder/Red Snapper Season” H.B. 442 was filed on March 8, 2025, and had many issues which we won’t go into right now. The NCFA expressed our concerns to the bill sponsors and changes were made but there was still one major issue, the bill only addressed recreational access to the Southern Flounder fishery. While we certainly agreed that the recreational sector needed a flounder harvest season, we felt it was important to point out that both the commercial and recreational sectors were being managed to reduce removals by 72% and both were based on the same questionable stock assessment. We continued to work with the primary sponsors of the bill and, on May 7, the third edition of 442 was adopted by the NC House of Representatives containing the following provisions to help both sectors. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:33
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR May 05, 2025 – New Report Claims Wilmington Diners are Being Swindled, ASMFC Meeting This Week
Wilmington’s seafood promises a taste of the Carolina coast, but many restaurants aren’t delivering on that claim. What’s often advertised as local shrimp is actually imported, leaving customers unaware they’re being deceived. A recent investigation found that 77% of Wilmington-area restaurants surveyed are fraudulently mislabeling shrimp, passing off imported, farm-raised products as fresh, locally caught. The results, based on randomized genetic testing at 44 restaurants, point to a widespread pattern of deception that harms both consumers and the local shrimping industry. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) meets this week for their Spring quarterly meeting. The meeting will be May 5th – 8th at the Westin Crystal City Hotel at 1800 Richmond Highway, Arlington, VA 2220. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR April 07, 2025
The Northern and Southern Advisory Committees (ACs) will meet this week (Finfish AC meets next week) to discuss and take public comment on Amendment 4 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The only action item in this amendment is whether to expedite the quota allocation shift to 50/50 recreational/commercial in 2025 instead of following the plan to shift allocation in 2026 as outlined in Amendment 3.,, Regulations implementing terminal gear requirements in the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP) contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d), became effective January 1, 2025. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:18
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR March 31, 2025
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) Mackerel Cobia Advisory Panel (AP) is meeting this week in Charleston, SC. During the meeting, the AP will review the Mackerel Port Meetings, including the sessions held in Hatteras, Morehead, Wilmington, and Manteo. For-hire reporting will also be discussed at this meeting. Detailed information can be found at the Meeting Webpage. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:35
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE for March 17, 2025
Last week the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) met in Kitty Hawk for their quarterly meeting. There was a good turnout from the public as well as a lot of good public comments. Even though the meeting ran into the evening comment session, I think it was good for everyone there to experience the process firsthand. I hope we can continue having a lot of public turnout! This was a very contentious meeting with almost every decision resulting in a 4-5 vote. I am certain we will be discussing these votes in more detail but for this week I just wanted to provide links to the full meeting and update everyone on the votes passed. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:11
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR March 10, 2025 – MFC Meeting This Week
The time has come for the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) to discuss and vote on the six fisheries on the chopping block. This is your chance to come together and show unity and support as a fishing community. Public comments are important, but showing up in large numbers sends a strong message as well. We have talked about these issues for weeks leading up to this MFC meeting. You know the issues, you know the problems, and you want to do what is right. Just attending this meeting shows solidarity and the urgency of our situation. If you can, we also encourage you to give public comment, talk with MFC members, and/or DMF staff. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:15
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR March 03, 2025 – From The Executive Director, A Few Agenda Items of Interest
As we’ve mentioned before, the NCFA does not believe the Marine Fisheries Commission can make any changes to the Blue Crab FMP without an updated stock assessment or a peer reviewed and approved benchmark assessment. We have emailed DMF Director, Kathy Rawls, outlining our concerns and are waiting for a response explaining why the DMF believes they can move forward using the adaptive management strategy, approved in Amendment 3, and the results of the 2018 stock assessment, which, when updated, was not approved for use. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:57
NCFA Weekly Update for February 24, 2025: Scientific Uncertainty/Important Blue Crab Update
Abundance vs Stock Status. Last week we highlighted the high variability in estimates of Speckled Trout abundance from one stock assessment to the next, using Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) estimates for 2008 from each of the three assessments to show the uncertainty. The 2009 assessment estimated ~800,000 lbs of mature females in 2008. The 2015 assessment estimated ~3,000,000 lbs of mature females in 2008. The 2022 assessment estimated ~4,000,000 lbs of mature females in 2008. Remember, these highly unreliable SSB estimates are compared to the SSB threshold, or level of abundance considered to be sustainable, to determine if a stock is overfished and if reductions are needed. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:29
NCFA Weekly Update for February 10, 2025 – Six Fisheries on the Chopping Block, Part 2 and Part 3
Part 1, Next week, at the meeting in Kitty Hawk, the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will be looking at Amendment 4 to the Southern flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The only action item in this amendment is moving the 2026 allocation shift of 50/50 up one year instead of following the plan outlined in Amendment 3, which was just finalized in 2022. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<
Part 3, Blue Crab – Next week, February 19th-21st, the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will also be reviewing a Decision Document looking at using Adaption Management to reduce commercial blue crab harvest. Although no vote will be required at this meeting, the timeline for implementation of management changes is scheduled for final vote in May 2025! more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:18
NCFA Weekly Update for February 10, 2025 – Six Fisheries on the Chopping Block at Upcoming MFC Meeting
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) meets February 19th-21st to discuss and vote on cutting harvest, time closures, closing large areas, and even eliminating usable gears in six vital NC fisheries. Blue crab, false albacore, flounder, speckled trout, oysters, and clams. As there are so many issues being brought forward at this one meeting, I will try to give a quick overview of each species on the agenda and follow up with additional updates with more detailed information about each issue before the meeting. more, >>CLICKTO READ<< 20:40
NCFA Weekly Update for December 30, 2024
NCFA BOARD AND STAFF WISH YOU AND YOURS A VERY SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oyster and Clam FMP Public Comment,,, The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is recommending phasing out mechanical clam harvest (clam kicking) and closing large areas to mechanical oyster harvest in their latest oyster and clam fishery management plan (FMP) update. Public comment is open and advisory committee meetings are scheduled starting next week. Clam FMP- The biggest change DMF recommends for mechanical clam harvest is to phase out clam kicking in three years unless the number of participants in the fishery increases to 10 and landings exceed 1 million clams. If participants and landings increase to the threshold, the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will reconsider the phase out at their May 2027 business meeting. More details can be found at the links below. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:45
NCFA Weekly Update for December 16, 2024 – Atlantic Striped Bass, Yet Another Discard Fishery
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board meets today (December 16th) from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Although North Carolina does not really have an Atlantic striped bass fishery anymore, the issues facing striped bass is the same thing we are seeing with many other stocks. For years we have only regulated harvest; limiting harvest days for recreational and commercial fishermen, increasing minimum size limits, lowering bag and trip limits, setting small slot limits, closing areas to commercial gear, modifying commercial gear; never ending harvest restrictions. Sound familiar? more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:45
NCFA Weekly Update for November 11, 2024: Thank You Veterans, with an update on Western N.C. Hurricane Assistance
Upcoming NC Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting – The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) is holding their quarterly business meeting next week in Emerald Isle. As usual there is a packed agenda, which includes southern flounder, speckled trout oysters, hard clams, and blue crabs. There will be time for in person public comment on the evening of Wednesday, November 20th and the morning of Thursday, November 21st. Shortly after Hurricane Helene hit the east coast, the North Carolina Fisheries Association sent an appeal to our members to help with sending bulk ice to western North Carolina, (WNC). As a result, several semi truckloads of bulk ice were sent to the affected area. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:05
NCFA Weekly Update for – September 30, 2024: URGENT! Assistance for Storm Victims in Western North Carolina
Some issues in need of special attention this week. Our Family and Friends in Western NC – The devastation of Hurricane Helene is unreal and unimaginable. There are many small communities further up the mountain from Asheville that are not getting much news coverage. Speaking with locals in the areas of Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery Counties in particular, they are still very much in the search and rescue stage of recovery. Many people are still unaccounted for and most shelters, schools, and churches do not have any form of communication to let people know they need help or to let loved ones know they are ok. Due to the nature of the area, landslides and canyons created by the flooding has destroyed many roads and made many areas only accessible by helicopter. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:47
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR – September 30, 2024
Ending Overfishing of Red Snapper – NOAA Fisheries announced at the last South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) meeting their intention to prepare a Secretarial Amendment to end overfishing of red snapper. In a press release following their announcement, NOAA Fisheries says they are planning “to increase fishing opportunities for landing red snapper by reducing the number of fish released dead”.
Preparation of a Secretarial Amendment instead of a traditional Amendment is the direct result of failure to act by the SAMFC. The SAFMC was officially notified that the red snapper stock was experiencing overfishing in July of 2021. Since this time, the SAFMC has failed to act to end overfishing as required in the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA). This failure to act has caused reduced opportunities for both commercial and recreational fishermen to harvest red snapper.
It is a shame the public has to sue the government to abide by the very laws they created, but I guess that is how our broken system works nowadays. Three lawsuits were brought against NOAA Fisheries in reference to red snapper and the SAFMC’s failure to act in a timely manner. On August 22, 2024 a settlement was reached in which NOAA Fisheries agreed to submit the final ruling to end overfishing on or before June 6, 2025.
There will be opportunities for public input during the Secretarial Amendment process, but the development of the Amendment will be done internally by NOAA Fisheries. The SAFMC and the public will receive at least one presentation before the plan is finalized for consideration and comment.
Ending overfishing by reducing recreational dead discards will increase opportunities for harvest of red snapper and if we are lucky, we can find a template that helps reduce discards and increases harvest opportunities in other fisheries as well.
Upcoming Meetings – NC Advisory Committees begin meeting next week to discuss Spotted Seatrout (Speckled Trout) management options. Stay tuned for more information.
Our Family and Friends in Western NC
I also wanted to ask for everyone to continue praying for Western North Carolina.
The devastation of Hurricane Helene is unreal and unimaginable. There are many small communities further up the mountain from Asheville that are not getting much news coverage. Speaking with locals in the areas of Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery Counties in particular, they are still very much in the search and rescue stage of recovery.
Many people are still unaccounted for and most shelters, schools, and churches do not have any form of communication to let people know they need help or to let loved ones know they are ok. Due to the nature of the area, landslides and canyons created by the flooding has destroyed many roads and made many areas only accessible by helicopter.
The prayers the people of Western North Carolina requested is for hope and peace for their communities in these long days ahead. Hoping everyone is ok and hopeful that their loved ones will soon be contacting them. Peace for the long nights and peace for the families that have no answers.
I ask that anyone wanting to help out to coordinate with your local churches and mission/aide groups. Travel in all these areas is still heavily restricted and supplies and people wanting to help need to be coordinated with local and state government officials. It is very important to keep the roads open for search and rescue at this point.
Thomas Newman
Fisheries Liaison
URGENT!!! 10.1.2024 – ASSISTANCE FOR STORM VICTIMS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Everyone knows about the devastation in western North Carolina from last week’s storm. In the past North Carolina’s seafood industry has helped with bulk ice being shipped to the affected areas.
I have been in contact with disaster assistance folks working out of Marion, NC, and we are working on the logistics.
Here are a few questions:
1.) Do you have any bulk ice that you can spare?
2.) Are you able to provide refrigerated transportation to get the ice to Marion?
3.) Do you have a refrigerated truck or a trailer that could be left on site for a few days?
4.) Do you have anyone who could stay and help bag the ice for easier distribution?
Keep in mind that all we are trying to do at this point is assess what we may be able to do.
Please let me know by calling or texting: 252-361-3015 or [email protected]
God bless, Jerry Schill
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NCFA Weekly Update for August 19, 2024 – Here we go again!
Instead of giving you the upcoming Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) meeting details like I would normally do this week, I want you to read one of our previous Updates that our Executive Director Glenn Skinner wrote on March 7, 2022. After the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) announced their initial management recommendations for speckled trout last week Glenn’s words are even more relevant now than they were then. Shortly after the February 2022 meeting of the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) made a social media post explaining how Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder FMP would impact recreational flounder fishing in NC. In response to the post, David Sneed, Executive Director of the NC CCA made the following comment. David Sneed “Let’s not forget how we got here… more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:31
NCFA Weekly Update for August 12, 2024
As most of you know, we are about midway through updating the Spotted Sea Trout FMP (Fisheries Management Plan). Comments are again needed at this stage of the management process! Written comments and in person comments will be accepted. The DMF (Division of Marine Fisheries) has published their initial management recommendations to end overfishing. Although the stock is not overfished and barely triggered the overfishing status, DMF is recommending a 39.6% reduction in overall harvest. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:54
NCFA Weekly Update for July 29, 2024
Upcoming Meetings, The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Committee (ASMFC) will be holding their summer 2024 meeting August 6 – 8 in Arlington, Virginia. The Mid Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) will be meeting August 12 – 15 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will be meeting August 21 – 23 in Raleigh, North Carolina. July has been another busy month for NCFA and next month looks even busier! Thank you all for keeping in touch and continuing to read the Weekly Update. As these meetings draw closer, I will give more detailed information about each meeting the week before it is scheduled. more, >>CLICK TOREAD<< 10:45
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE for June 24, 2024
MD, VA and NC Public Hearing on Atlantic Cobia Draft Addendum II – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) staff will be presenting Atlantic Cobia Draft Addendum II and having opportunity for public comment. This Draft Addendum considers recreational allocation, harvest target evaluation, and the timeline for setting management specifications. Although this may not directly apply to all readers, I think it is an interesting exercise that will apply to many more of our fisheries in the future. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:19
NCFA Weekly Update for June 10, 2024
Mandatory Harvest Reporting, Why and How? SAFMC Meets This Week This Week. As you know, in 2023 legislation was approved that places new “mandatory reporting” requirements on both recreational anglers and commercial fishermen who participate in North Carolinas coastal fisheries. As usual, this has led to a lot of comments, complaints, and misinformation which, quite frankly, is what started the mandatory reporting conversation in the first place. As one of the primary supporters of “mandatory reporting” we feel it’s important for the NCFA to explain exactly why and how this legislation came to be. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<– 18:18
NCFA WEEKLY UPDATE FOR June 03, 2024
The Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) meets this week in Riverhead, NY. The meeting starts Tuesday June, 4th and goes through Thursday June, 6th. Meeting Webpage, Agenda, Combined Briefing Book, Join Meeting on Webex. Public comments on agenda items will be allowed during appropriate times of the meeting and general comments will be taken the last day of the meeting. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:31
NCFA Weekly Update for May 6, 2024
Last week’s newsletter got quite a bit of attention, prompting several folks to reach out to me directly in regard to the constitutional “right” to hunt and fish seen below. You’ll also notice that the purpose of the Right to Hunt and Fish Constitutional Amendments is to prevent hunting and fishing from being banned, not to elevate one citizen’s right to fish over that of another. Legislative updates, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
NCFA SPECIAL UPDATE! April 30, 2024, TURF WAR CONTINUES WITH WILDLIFE RESOURCES COMMISSION
The Wildlife Resources Commission, or WRC, has requested rules to change the parameters of what comes under their jurisdiction vs Marine Fisheries. We need you to send an email as outlined below to the two addresses at the Rules Review Commission. It needs to be done today or by noon tomorrow, please! There is no need to go into detail, just a letter of objection as outlined below. However, if you want the rationale just call me or Glenn or send us a note. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:31
