November 14, 2025 — The coastal county lawmakers that formed a new group to support commercial fishing have submitted a resolution opposing more restrictions on the commercial harvest of blue crabs ahead of the Marine Fisheries Commission Nov. 19-20 meeting in Wrightsville Beach.
The Marine Fisheries Commission is expected to consider adopting management strategies developed as part of the adaptative management framework for the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3.
Those proposed strategies were discussed extensively during the third meeting of the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition held Nov. 5 in Morehead City, when the members approved the resolution opposing any further restrictions until the 2026 blue crab stock assessment is completed.
Amendment 3 was adopted in 2020 “to end overfishing and achieve sustainable harvest in the blue crab fishery,” Division of Marine Fisheries documents state. The original plan was adopted in December 1998 with the intention to manage the species, and amended in 2004 and again in 2013. The division acts as staff to the commission.
Amendment 3 is nearly halfway through the legislatively mandated 10-year stock rebuilding period “with little evidence suggesting management measures have been successful in ending overfishing or achieving sustainable harvest,” documents continue. The adaptive management framework in the amendment 3 is being “used to implement management measures projected to reduce fishing mortality (F) closer to the F target and rebuild the spawning stock closer to the spawner abundance target with greater than 50% probability of success.”
Current rules include closures Jan. 1-31 north of the Highway 58 bridge in Carteret County and March 1-15 in waters south of the bridge, and a 5-inch minimum size for mature females.
Staff propose starting Jan. 1, in addition to existing closures, prohibiting crab trawling statewide year-round. For waters north of the Emerald Isle bridge, a 30-bushel trip limit would be put in place from September to December, and for south of the bridge, a 15-bushel hard crab trip limit from September to December.