The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a meeting on May 13 and May 14 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, located at 100 Middle St., New Bern. The meeting is open to the public and will also be livestreamed on YouTube.
The commission said the business session will start at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, with public comments beginning at 6 p.m. On Thursday, public comment resumes at 9 a.m., followed by additional business discussions. People who wish to speak during the in-person comment sessions must sign up before each session starts. Each speaker will be limited to three minutes and may only speak once during either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
Written comments can be submitted online through a form available on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage, mailed to Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting Comments at P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557, or delivered in person to the Division of Marine Fisheries’ headquarters in Morehead City. The deadline for submitting written comments is Monday, May 11 at 4 p.m.
During this meeting, commissioners are scheduled to vote on whether to approve Notice of Text for Rulemaking related to Atlantic Bonito Management (15A NCAC 03M .0524). If approved, this would begin a formal rulemaking process that includes a required sixty-day public comment period later this year.
Other agenda items include presentations about coastal and marine fisheries studies by Dr. Joel Fodrie; background information on Kingfishes; an update regarding Blue Crab stock assessment and its upcoming webinar; information about Deepwater Oyster Recovery Areas; and updates on ongoing fishery management plans already adopted.
A full agenda with meeting materials and access details for the livestream are available through the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.
