July 2, 2014 — A joint enforcement agreement allowing N.C. Marine Patrol to enforce federal regulations in exchange for federal funding is one of many differences the state Senate and House must reconcile to approve a 2014-15 state budget.
The Senate budget included a provision stipulating the state cannot enter into the agreement. The governor and the House included the agreement in their budgets.
Patricia Smith, a public information officer for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, said the organization has tried to get the agreement approved by state lawmakers several times. North Carolina is the only coastal state on the East Coast to refuse to adopt the agreement since eligibility was extended to 45 states and territories in the 2007 Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act.
Smith said the exact terms of the agreement would be hashed out after the legislature grants authority to proceed, but she suggested it would have little impact on current enforcement.
“Whenever there’s a federal fisheries regulation, typically North Carolina will mirror that regulation in state regulations. So we’re already out there doing a lot of this enforcement,” Smith said during a June 30 phone interview, listing snapper, grouper, tuna, wahoo and dolphin fish as federally managed species the state currently enforces.
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