The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Nov. 19-21 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5353 N. Virginia Dare Trail, Kitty Hawk.
Public comment periods will be held at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 and at 9 a.m. Nov. 20. The chairman will allow each speaker to comment for three minutes. Due to time constraints, those making comments will be asked to speak only once, either at the Nov. 19 or Nov. 20 session, but not during both public comment periods.
The Wednesday night public comment period will begin with an informal question and answer session at 6 p.m. Commission members and Division of Marine Fisheries staff will be available to answer questions from the public. Afterward, the commission will hold a more formal public comment period at 6:30 p.m.
Deadline for submitting written correspondence to the commission, e-mail or otherwise, through the Marine Fisheries Commission Office is 5 p.m. Nov. 14. Those who wish to give handouts to the commission during the public comment period should bring at least 12 copies of the handout.
The business meeting begins at 9 a.m. Nov. 20 and at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 21.
The commission will offer a live webcast of the meeting. Up to 200 participants may listen to audio and view presentations in real-time on a first-come, first-served basis. Directions for participating in the webcast, including information on system requirements and testing, can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/listen-online.
The commission is scheduled to select its preferred management options for a draft amendment to the state’s Striped Mullet Fishery Management Plan; approve strategic habitat area nominations for Region 3 for inclusion in the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan; select nominees for the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic fishery management councils; and consider two proposals for Conservation Fund grants.
The commission will also hear presentations on a proposed for-hire logbook reporting requirement and on recreational discard mortality of red drum and spotted sea trout.
A meeting agenda and a full briefing book can be found on the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries website at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/mfc-meetings.
For more information, contact Marine Fisheries Commission Liaison Nancy Fish at 252-808-8021 or Nancy.Fish@ncdenr.gov.
