The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish leases in Dare County at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12. The hearing will be held in-person at the Dare County Government Center, Main Boardroom, 926 Marshall C. Collins Drive, Manteo and by WebEx.
- Kinnakeet Oyster Company, LLC, (Hans Tyler Hofe, agent) has applied for a 7.35-acre shellfish bottom lease (21-048BL) and water column lease (21-049WC) off Avon Harbor.
- Kinnakeet Oyster Company, LLC, (Martin Crew Hayes) has applied for a 5.59-acre shellfish bottom lease (21-052BL) and water column lease (21-053WC) off Avon Harbor.
- Kings Point Oysters, LLC, (Katherine McGlade, agent) applied for a 2.53-acre shellfish bottom lease (22-035BL) and water column lease (036WC) in Sandy Bay.
- Kings Point Oysters, LLC, (Katherine McGlade, agent) has applied for a 1.33-acre shellfish bottom lease (22-037BL) and water column lease (22-038WC) in Sandy Bay.
- William M. Clower and Aaron W. Hopkins have applied for a 0.70-acre shellfish bottom lease (22-069BL) and water column lease (22-070WC) in Blossie Creek.
The public may comment on the above lease applications in person at the hearing or by WebEx. To facilitate online comments, the Division is asking those who wish to speak via WebEx to pre-register at https://deq.nc.gov/dare-county-shellfish-lease-hearing-speaker-registration by 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 11. Those who wish to comment in-person should sign up on-site the night of the hearing.
Public hearing information, including the web conference link, call-in telephone number, presentation slides, and biological investigation reports can be found at https://deq.nc.gov/news/events/dare-county-shellfish-lease-hearing.
The public may also comment on the proposed shellfish leases in writing. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., Thursday, April 13 and may be submitted two ways:
- Online Comments – Written comments will be accepted through an online form available at https://deq.nc.gov/dare-county-shellfish-lease-hearing-comment-form.
- Mailed Comments – Written comments may be mailed to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, Shellfish Leases, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.
For more information, contact Marla Chuffo, with the division’s Habitat and Enhancement Section, at 252-808-8048 or Marla.Chuffo@ncdenr.gov.
