MFC Advisory Committee Meetings This Week
The North Carolina Marine Fishery Commission (MFC) will hold Advisory Committee (AC) meetings beginning on Tuesday this week. There will be a total of five AC meetings held in multiple locations this week and next.
Public comment opportunities are scheduled at the beginning of each meeting.
The primary agenda for the first 4 meetings is to discuss the status of implementation of adopted Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) and to receive information about FMPs currently under review or that will be under review this year.
FMPs recently implemented:
Eastern Oyster Amendment 5
Hard Clam Amendment 3
Southern Flounder Amendment 4
Estuarine Striped Bass Amendment 2
Spotted Sea Trout Amendment 1
FMPs up for review:
Southern Flounder Amendment 5
Red Drum FMP
Kingfishes (sea mullet) FMP
Blue Crab FMP
Bay Scallop FMP
As you can see a lot of important fisheries are going to be under review this calendar year and Advisory Committee meetings are some of the best times to get early input by asking Division staff questions, giving comments, and identifying issues and priorities early in the process.
There are no meeting materials other than the agendas but for a little bit of background information about these FMPs you can view the 20 minute presentation given at the February MFC meeting link below.
Note: The Habitat & Water Quality AC meeting on Wednesday, March 18th has a different agenda and will not be officially discussing the FMPs. The Habitat & Water Quality AC is scheduled to discuss the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan (CHPP) Amendment.
Regional, Finfish, and Shellfish/Crustacean Agenda
Habitat & Water Quality Agenda
Northern Regional Advisory Committee
Tuesday, March 10 at 6 p.m.
Washington Civic Center
110 Gladden Street
Washington, NC 27889
Southern Regional Advisory Committee
Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m.
Cape Fear Community College
Union Station Building, Room # U-251
502 N Front Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
Finfish Advisory Committee
Thursday, March 12 at 6 p.m.
NC Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557
Shellfish/Crustacean Advisory Committee
Tuesday, March 17 at 6 p.m.
NC Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557
Habitat & Water Quality Advisory Committee
Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
NC Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557
SAFMC Lines of Communication
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is coming to North Carolina the last full week of March to hold a series of in person stakeholder meetings. The meetings will be held nightly from 6-8pm at 4 different locations.
These meetings are meant to allow attendees to actively discuss their perspectives with local council members in an informal setting much different than regular council meetings. The council hopes these meetings will build and strengthen relationships with fishery stakeholders through open dialogue and mutual learning.
The meetings are open to everyone and there is no set agenda. Key takeaways from these meetings will be recorded and presented to the full council and outcomes from these meetings can help identify topics that need to be addressed, set overall workload priorities, and guide active management decisions.
Your attendance at these meetings is important, as it lets the council know we care about our fisheries and we want to help guide future management decisions.
Lines of Communications Webpage
Meeting Information
March 23rd
6:00-8:00pm
Bolivia
Brunswick County Sandifer Admin. Building
30 Government Center Drive NE
Bolivia, NC 28422
March 24th
6:00-8:00pm
Morehead City
NC DMF Central District Office
5285 Highway 70
West Morehead City, NC 28557
March 25th
6:00-8:00pm
Hatteras
Hatteras Civic Center
56658 NC Hwy 12
Hatteras, NC 27943
March 26th
6:00-8:00pm
Manteo
Virginia S. Tillet Community Center
950 Marshall C Collins Drive
Manteo, NC 27954
Thomas Newman
Fisheries Liaison
