New Marine Fisheries rules now in effect

Eleven new and amended Marine Fisheries Commission rules are now in effect, including rules pertaining to False Albacore management, pot marking requirements, shellfish leases and franchises and various permits.

False Albacore Management: One new rule, 15A NCAC 03M .0523, delegates authority to the Fisheries Director to issue a public notice, called a "proclamation," to manage the False Albacore fishery if landings exceed a predetermined threshold. Prior consent from the Marine Fisheries Commission is required. Until now, False Albacore (Euthynnus alletteratus), also known as "little tunny," has not been managed at the state or federal level in North Carolina or in any Atlantic waters on the East Coast except Massachusetts. The rule establishes means to manage this fishery in North Carolina in case the fishery continues to expand.

Pot Marking Requirements – One amendment to 15A NCAC 03J .0301 reduces the burden on stakeholders who use pots for fishing by only requiring one form of pot identification, instead of two forms, which had been required. The agency coordinated with N.C. Marine Patrol to conclude that one form of identification is sufficient for marking pots. The proposed changes are in response to feedback from stakeholders and an internal review of processes.

Shellfish Leases and Franchises Rule Amendments: Amendments to 5 rules (15A (NCAC 03I .0101, 03O .0201, .0207, .0208, .0210) codify current procedures and align rules with state laws by:

• Removing franchises from productions requirements and termination procedures.
• Clarifying that production requirements for shellfish leases are based on the date a shellfish lease was granted or last renewed.
• Clarifying who determines eligibility for additional shellfish lease acreage, the time at which the determination of eligibility for additional acreage occurs, what is considered additional shellfish lease acreage and what is considered acres under a shellfish lease.

Permit Rule Amendments – Amendments to five rules (15A NCAC 03I .0101, .0114, 03O .0501-.0503):

• Require any seafood dealer that reports trip tickets electronically to report quota monitoring logs electronically.
• Codify four permits in permanent rule that have been required by proclamation, including a dealer permit for the estuarine flounder fishery and the Estuarine Gill Net Permit. There are no changes to the permit requirements.
• Clarify a fish dealer is required to submit a trip ticket for fish not sold, consistent with the North Carolina Mandatory Harvest Reporting law and MFC rules for commercial harvest reporting requirements.
• Codify into rule a permit condition that has been required by proclamation that makes it unlawful to refuse to allow DMF employees to obtain data for the conservation and management of marine and estuarine resources.
• Broaden the definition of "educational institution" to include schools and educational organizations.
• Add links to webpages in rules for supporting information that can change frequently.
• Repeal the Horseshoe Crab Biomedical Use Permit due to lack of use. Harvest continues to be allowed during the open commercial bait harvest season.
• Add email as an additional means to satisfy call-in requirements for the Scientific or Educational Activity Permit and Weekend Trawling for Live Shrimp Permit.
• Remove the requirement to notarize a permit application and, instead, require only the initial permit general condition form to be notarized.

Full text of the rule changes can be found in the June 1, 2026 Supplement to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission Rules April 1, 2020.

For more information, contact Division Rulemaking Coordinator Catherine Blum at Catherine.Blum@deq.nc.gov or 252-515-5500.