March 30, 2017 — Two lawmakers from coastal North Carolina filed a bill Monday to encourage the Wilmington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow shellfish cultivation and aquaculture activities in North Carolina waters containing submerged aquatic vegetation.
Sens. Norman Sanderson (R-Carteret) and Bill Cook (R-Beaufort) described Senate Bill 410 as an economic development driver that is also good for the environment.
“With our acres of pristine waters and a large and growing interest in cultivated oysters, the potential for the industry in the state is huge,” said Sanderson and Cook in a press release. “Our goal is for North Carolina to become the ‘Napa Valley’ of oysters. A single adult oyster can filter and clean up to 50 gallons of water a day — thus our waters will be cleaner and our economy will grow.
“North Carolina’s estuaries are well-known for being some of the most productive in the world. We have the second largest estuary system in the United States and the largest contained in one state. Amending this federal rule has tremendous potential to create new jobs with the shellfish and aquaculture industry.”
The federal rule in question aims to protect submerged aquatic vegetation, but the bill sponsors contend it is too restrictive.
“This policy is more stringent than policies used in other coastal states, including the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said the senators in a statement. “Shellfish lease applications in North Carolina have been routinely denied by the Division of Marine Fisheries due to the presence of any submerged aquatic vegetation. Virginia falls under the Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and in that state, after the individual lease holder has a preconstruction notification, their lease can have a certain amount of submerged aquatic vegetation under certain conditions.”