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May 23, 2025
Marine Fisheries Commission amends Oyster, Clam fishery management plans
MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission amended the state’s Eastern Oyster and Hard Clam fishery management plans at its business meeting this week.
Management provisions adopted in the Eastern Oyster Fishery Management Plan Amendment 5 include:
- Establishing Deep-Water Oyster Recovery Areas that would not open to the mechanical harvest of oysters.
- Linking mechanical oyster harvest management in Pamlico Sound to the Division of Marine Fisheries’ extensive cultch planting effort, determining season length based on pre-season sampling of oyster resources.
- Implementing a rotational opening plan for mechanical oyster harvest on 10-acre cultch planting sites.
Management provisions adopted in the Hard Clam Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 include implementing a 3-year phase out of mechanical clam harvest from public bottom, including harvest associated with maintenance dredging.
Both the Eastern Oyster and Hard Clam amendments include a provision to explore options to estimate recreational shellfish participation and landings and to communicate necessary shellfish sanitation health and safety information to fishermen.
In other business, the commission:
- Selected its preferred management option for the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4, which would move the already scheduled sector allocation shift to 50/50 (commercial/recreational) to 2025 instead of 2026, as prescribed in Amendment 3.
- Approved notice of text to begin the rulemaking process to amend rules for the below two issues. The proposed rules will be posted in the NC Register in August, followed by a public comment period, including a public hearing that will be announced at a later time.
- 15A NCAC 03I .0101, .0114, 03O .0501-.0503 for Permit-Related Rules
- 15A NCAC 03I .0101, 03O .0201, .0207, .0208, .0210 for Franchises and Shellfish Leases
A recording of the meeting can be found on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.
For More Information
Contact: Patricia Smith
Phone: 252-515-5500
Website: https://www.deq.nc.gov/dmf
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NCMarineFisheries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NC_DMF
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NC_DMF
P.O. Box 769, 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City N.C. 28577
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