May 21, 2014 — For the third year in a row, commercial tonnage of seafood was down in 2013, partially due to shoaling at Oregon Inlet, while dockside values were up, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries says.
Commercial fishermen sold 50 million pounds of fish and shellfish at state docks in 2013, a 12 percent decrease from 2012 and 21 percent less than the five-year average, according to the division’s Trip Ticket Program.
The dockside value of the catch rose to $79 million, 9 percent higher than in 2012 and 4 percent higher than the five-year average.
Recreational fishing harvest increased from 2012 but remained about the same as the five-year average and was about 47 percent below what it was 10 years ago.
Recreational fishermen landed about 11.6 million fish, weighing about 13.3 million pounds in 2013, a 10 percent increase in pounds over 2012, according to the division’s Coastal Angling Program.