New Coastal Fishing Rules Reorganize and Clarify Existing Regulations



MOREHEAD CITY – A slate of new coastal fishing rules will go into effect April 1. The rules mostly reorganize and clarify existing regulations.



The rules were adopted by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission at its Nov. 3-5 meeting.



The new rules:



· Reorganize the fisheries rulebook by removing repetitive or non-regulatory language in Subchapter 03H and relocating maps and marking regulations to Subchapter 03I;

· Define the terms “corkline,” “headrope” and “lead” referred to in other rules;

· Correct a cross-reference to a definition for coral and live rock (this will not change the definition);

· Clarify that only those holding a Recreational Commercial Gear License that use pots authorized by the license are required to mark their pots with hot pink buoys;

· Broaden the existing proclamation authority of the director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries for horseshoe crab management to maintain compliance with interstate regulations;

· Add a definition for pectoral fin curved fork length and allow commercially-caught bluefin tuna to be measured this way for consistency with federal regulations;

· Allow for the head of a commercially-caught tuna to be removed at sea, making state rules consistent with federal regulations;

· Require ocean fishing piers to submit a monthly report of the daily head counts of anglers so that the state can maintain exemption from the National Angler Registry;

· Require shellfish culture training certification for new lease applicants and transferees, as required by state law;

· Remove the requirement to notarize signatures on renewals of fishing permit applications;

· Classify Long Creek Gut and reclassify Eastham Creek as Primary Nursery Areas, and a portion of Chadwick Bay as a Special Secondary Nursery Area in accordance with N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries sampling criteria;

· Update the list of cross-references to no-trawling areas in Rule 03R .0106; and

· Codify an existing proclamation that protects a coastal fishing reef/oyster sanctuary at Gibbs Shoal in Hyde County.



Full texts of the new rules were published March 1 in the N.C. Register and can be found online at http://www.oah.state.nc.us/rules/register/ in Volume 25, Issue 17 beginning on page 2022.



For more information, contact division Rules Coordinator Catherine Blum at (252) 808-8013 or Catherine.Blum@ncdenr.gov.