News Release Archives: January 2019

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Jan. 31, 2019
Phone: 252-726-7021

MEDIA ADVISORY: Southern Flounder Fishery
Management Plan Advisory Committee to meet

MOREHEAD CITY — The Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Washington regional office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.

The committee is assisting the Division of Marine Fisheries with development of Amendment 2 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan.

Agenda items include a presentation on the draft Amendment 2 for achieving sustainable harvest, including a possible vote on recommending season closures to the Marine Fisheries Commission. The committee will also discuss long-term solutions to achieve sustainable harvest through Amendment 3 to the plan, which is being developed concurrently.

A full meeting agenda can be found here.

For more information, contact Mike Loeffler at Michael.Loeffler@ncdenr.gov or 252-264-3911 or Anne Markwith at Anne.Markwith@ncdenr.gov or 910-796-7292.

nr-10-2019

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Jan. 25, 2019
Phone: 252-726-7021

Division of Marine Fisheries’ Elizabeth City Office
open for commercial license transactions 

MOREHEAD CITY — The Elizabeth City office of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is now fully operational at 100 Kitty Hawk Lane, Elizabeth City.

Members of the public seeking commercial fishing license transactions may now conduct business at this office. Recreational fishing and hunting licenses and boat registrations are also sold at this location.

While the office reopened to the public several weeks ago, full licensing services had been unavailable since the old office on Impact Boulevard closed to the public Oct. 11.

The office is off Industrial Park Drive and is about 6.7 miles from the previous office. The office telephone number remains 252-264-3911.

nr-09-19

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Jan. 16, 2019
Phone: 252-726-7021

MEDIA ADVISORY: WRC/MFC Joint Committee on
Delineation of Fishing Waters to meet

MOREHEAD CITY — The N.C. Wildlife Resources and Marine Fisheries Commissions’ Joint Committee on Delineation of Fishing Waters will meet at 1 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Craven Community College Bosch & Siemens Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC), Room 104, 800 College Court, New Bern.

The committee has been formed to help integrate the work of the two commissions as they fulfill their statutory responsibilities to jointly determine the boundaries that define North Carolina’s Inland, Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters as the agencies go through a statutorily defined periodic review of existing rules.

The Marine Fisheries Commission members appointed to this committee are Rob Bizzell, Pete Kornegay and Doug Cross. The Wildlife Resources Commission members appointed to this committee are John Stone, Tommy Fonville and Monty Crump.

nr-08-2019

Release: Immediate
Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: Jan. 14, 2019
Phone: 252-726-7021 or 252-342-0642

Fishermen can still respond to Hurricane Florence
Commercial Fishing Assistance Program letters

MOREHEAD CITY — Commercial fishermen eligible for the state’s Hurricane Florence Commercial Fishing Assistance Program, who have not already done so, should contact the Division of Marine Fisheries as soon as possible if they want to participate in the program.

In December, the division sent certified letters to approximately 1,800 commercial fishermen who are residents of North Carolina and who held a valid, current Standard or Retired Standard Commercial Fishing License or a Shellfish License for N.C. Residents without a Standard Commercial Fishing License during September 2018. The letters invited the fishermen to participate in the Hurricane Florence Commercial Fishing Assistance Program and asked them to verify their September landings data and submit a W-9 tax form.

To date, the division has heard back from fewer than 900 eligible fishermen.

The division had set a Jan. 4, 2019 deadline for responses; however, because delivery of the letters to some fishermen took longer than expected, the division is being lenient with this deadline.

Additionally, the division lacks confirmation of receipt of the letters for about 200 eligible fishermen.

Any resident commercial fisherman or shellfish harvester licensed in September 2018 and who had landings in September 2015, 2016, or 2017 who did not receive a letter from the division should contact Brandi Salmon in the division’s Morehead City Office at 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632.

The state has appropriated $11.6 million to the Division of Marine Fisheries to compensate commercial fishermen and shellfish harvesters for income losses from harvest reductions due to Hurricane Florence. Distribution of the money will be based on reported landings in September, October, and November 2018 as compared to the same months in 2015, 2016, 2017.

Letters asking fishermen to verify October and November landings for these years will go out at a future date.

nr-07-2019