(A) Albemarle Sound Management Area: contact DMF for seasons, areas or other limits; Atlantic Ocean year-round: 1 per person per day at 28” TL minimum;
Other coastal fishing waters; 2 per person per day at 18” TL minimum and unlawful to possess between 22” – 27” TL. This Includes hybrid bass.
Season: October through April, statewide by Proclamation. Moratorium in Cape Fear River system.
(B) Limit of 10/person/day or 60/trip, whichever is less. On headboats, limit is 10/person/day. No sale of recreational bag limit on vessels operating as charter or headboats.
(C) Unlawful to possess red drum greater than 27 inches total length. Unlawful to gig, spear, or gaff red drum. One black drum per person per day over 25” TL is allowed.
(D) Black sea bass NORTH of Cape Hatteras, State open season dates to be announced. See most recent Proclamation.
(E) See prohibited species list above; Legal sharks include: tiger, blacktip, spinner, lemon, bull, nurse, smooth and scalloped and great hammerhead, blacknose, finetooth, bonnethead, shortfin mako, blue, thresher, porbeagle, and oceanic whitetip. One (1) Atlantic sharpnose (no minimum size) and one bonnethead (no minimum size) per person per day may be landed in addition to allowable bag limits for other sharks. See most recent Proclamation.
(F) Mature female crabs are exempt from minimum size.
(G) In state or federal waters, federal permit required for Highly Migratory Species, excluding Atlantic bonito, little tunny (albacore), and blackfin tuna: 978-281-9370. Prior to removal from vessel, all billfishes, swordfish and bluefin tuna must be reported at NC HMS reporting stations. DMF website for more details. (H) Snapper grouper complex species: whitebone porgy, jolthead porgy, knobbed porgy, saucereye porgy, gray triggerfish, bar jack, almaco jack, lesser amberjack, banded rudderfish, white grunt, margates, sailor’s choice, spadefish and scup (south of Hatteras). 20 per person per day in combination when the species are open to harvest. (see note I above). | (I) For seasons, bag limits, size limits or closures for tunas, billfishes, and sharks contact NMFS Highly Migratory Species Division 800-894-5528. For snapper, grouper, and mackerels contact the South Atlantic Council 843-571-4366 or www.safmc.net and see the most recent FF-Snapper-Grouper Proclamation.
(J) Shallow water grouper species (gag, black, red, scamp, rock hind, red hind, coney, graysby, yellowfin, and yellowmouth grouper ) harvest is prohibited January 1–April 30. Possession of red snapper is prohibited.
(K) Grouper in the management unit include: snowy, red, yellowfin, yellowmouth, black, yellowedge, misty, gag, scamp, red hind, rock hind, graysby, and coney. The three (3) grouper bag limit also includes blueline, golden and sand tilefish. Maximum of one golden tilefish per person per day and one snowy grouper per vessel per day (when season is open). No possession of Nassau, goliath and warsaw grouper, and speckled hind.
(L) It is unlawful to possess blacktip, bull, lemon, nurse, spinner, tiger, blue, oceanic whitetip, porbeagle, shortfin mako and common thresher less than 54 inches (FL). It is unlawful to possess great, scalloped and smooth hammerhead sharks less than 78 inches (FL). It is unlawful to possess a great, scalloped or smooth hammerhead or oceanic whitetip shark while in possession of tunas, billfish or swordfish.
(M) One crab pot may be used from private property or private pier, without a license – Reference 15A NCAC 3J .0302.
(N) Contact DMF or visit http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamations
for seasons, areas, or other restrictions.
(O) It is unlawful to take or possess American Shad from the Atlantic Ocean. For aggregate creel limits for American shad and hickory shad, see most recent Proclamation.
(P) Season open July 1 – August 31. (Q) Season open January 1 - August 31.
 Size and creel limits for spotted seatrout, flounder, red drum and gray trout taken in joint and coastal waters are the same as the recreational limits for those species in adjacent inland waters. |
