Gov. Roy Cooper late Friday signed a bill making long-sought changes to North Carolina’s shellfish leasing program that was unanimously approved in the General Assembly. The House passed Senate Bill 648, Support Shellfish Aquaculture, on June 12 in a 116-0 vote. In early May, the Senate approved the bill in a 47-0 vote. In a [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting proposals for the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program for federal fiscal year 2020. BIG is a grant program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that reimburses up to 75 percent of costs for projects that construct, renovate or maintain tie-up facilities and related amenities for recreational [...] Fishing |  Full Article

By Bruce Paul, www.thebigrock.com Top Dog became “Top of the World” Saturday when it landed a record-breaking 914-pound blue marlin to win the 61stannual Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament. Top Dog captain Ryan Knapp of Ocean City, Md., and angler Todd Dickerson, Damascus, Md., fought their catch for more than five hours and then needed an additional [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committee will meet jointly with the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee at 1 p.m. June 19 at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington. The two committees are scheduled to review and vote on funding proposals from the [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The final version of a bill to expand aquaculture and reduce conflicts between shellfish operations and other users of the state’s public waters has cleared the legislature with unanimous support. The House on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 648, Support Shellfish Aquaculture, 116-0. The Senate approved the measure last week in a 47-0 vote. The bill sets [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding fishermen that its Elizabeth City office has moved since last summer. Area commercial fishermen who need to renew their standard commercial fishing licenses and permits at the office should go to the new location at 100 Kitty Hawk Lane, Elizabeth City which is off Industrial Park Drive [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is moving toward implementing commercial and recreational flounder seasons to end overfishing and rebuild the overfished southern flounder stock. The commission voted last week to accept the recommendations of the Division of Marine Fisheries in their entirety as its preferred management options for Draft Amendment 2 to the Southern Flounder [...] Fishing |  Full Article

Long-term efforts to expand shellfish leasing in North Carolina waters cleared another legislative hurdle this week, an indication that, unlike last year’s bill, this one is on its way to becoming law. The new bill, hammered out in a yearlong stakeholder process after the failure of last year’s legislation, is drawn in part from a [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The Dare County Commission for Working Watermen met on Wednesday evening, May 29, to review the Southern Flounder Management Plan, and to formulate a response and recommendation for the upcoming Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, June 3. The Draft Amendment 2 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan is currently in the [...] Fishing |  Full Article