The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries is inviting recreational anglers to donate flounder carcasses for research during the 2025 season, which runs from September 1 through September 14. The collected carcasses will help biologists gather important data on the state’s flounder population.
Participants who donate a flounder carcass and complete a catch-card—one per fish—will be entered into a drawing to win one of two rod and reel combinations. Each angler can only enter once. Catch-cards and donation supplies are available at each collection site, and cards must be filled out completely and truthfully to qualify.
This year, several temporary donation sites have been added in addition to seven year-round locations. Temporary sites include Quarter Deck in Bath, Chasin Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle in Atlantic Beach, Pelagic Hunter in Sneads Ferry, Intracoastal Angler in Wilmington, Carolina Beach Municipal Docks in Carolina Beach, and Ocean Isle Fishing Center in Ocean Isle Beach.
Year-round drop-off points remain at Frisco Rod & Gun (Frisco), Jennette’s Pier (Nags Head), Eastside Bait & Tackle (Washington), Cape Pointe Marina (Harkers Island), the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters (Morehead City), Tex’s Tackle (Wilmington), and Clem’s Seafood (Southport).
Anglers are advised to leave the head, tail, and if possible, guts or reproductive organs intact when cleaning fish for donation. Those fishing with charter or head boats should notify the fish cleaner about their intention to donate the carcass.
Division biologists will use donated specimens to measure size, determine sex where possible, and extract otoliths for age analysis. These data contribute to future stock assessments for flounder populations.
The 2025 recreational Flounder season opens at 12:01 a.m. on September 1 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on September 14. Regulations allow anglers to keep one fish per person per day with a minimum total length of 15 inches; more details are available through Proclamation FF-25-2025.
Biologists also collect data from commercially caught flounder directly at fish houses; these commercial catches should not be left at Carcass Collection Program freezers intended for recreational donations.
“Read more about North Carolina’s Carcass Collection program here,” the division stated. For further information or questions regarding participation, contact Amanda Macek, division sportfishing specialist, at 252-515-5537 or amanda.macek@deq.nc.gov.
