From CoastalReview.org Dozens of commercial fishers will scour select areas of North Carolina waters this month to find and remove potentially dangerous crab pots and other lost fishing gear. The effort is part of the annual lost fishing gear recovery project, which has been coordinated by the North Carolina Coastal Federation since 2014, funded by [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold public hearings and scoping meetings in January and early February to solicit input on proposed measures for species in the snapper grouper management complex. Management measures are proposed for Gag, Black Grouper, and Red Snapper to help address release mortality. The Council is also soliciting public input [...] Fishing |  Full Article

Due to shoaling earlier this year that prevented boaters from accessing the navigation span of the Basnight Bridge, the Snell and Merritt—dredges operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—along with Dare County’s Miss Katie dredge, have worked since August 2022 to open up a new channel. The previous route has been disestablished. The new channel [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding the public of the annual blue crab harvest closures. The harvest closure period runs from Jan. 1, 2023 through Jan. 31, 2023, for North Carolina state waters north and east of the Highway 58 bridge over Bogue Sound to Emerald Isle and from March 1, 2023 through [...] Fishing |  Full Article

Five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in January. The meetings will be held by WebEx and streamed on YouTube. Those who wish to attend a meeting online and speak during the public comment period must pre-register. The deadline for registration for online public comment is noon the day of the [...] Fishing |  Full Article

NOAA Fisheries is holding a series of in-person workshops in January to gather input from stakeholders in the region that will guide management of dolphin, also known as mahi mahi and dolphinfish. The workshops are being led in collaboration with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and build on previous participatory workshops on the dolphin/wahoo [...] Fishing |  Full Article

Five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in January. The meetings will be held by WebEx and streamed on YouTube. Those who wish to attend a meeting online and speak during the public comment period must pre-register. The deadline for registration for online public comment is noon the day of the [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries wants to remind the public to report any cold stunned spotted seatrout they may see in North Carolina coastal waters. During the winter, spotted seatrout move to relatively shallow creeks and rivers, where they can be vulnerable to cold stun events. Cold stun events have the potential to occur [...] Fishing |  Full Article

The Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® (OBAR) held their 25th Annual Charity Surf Fishing Tournament.  The charity event benefited the Association’s Disaster Relief held with the Outer Banks Community Foundation.  Twenty-five teams cast their lines at the event and over $6,000 was raised. Surf Fishing Chair Aimee Pitts of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage said, “It [...] Fishing |  Full Article