August 20, 2026 — Maine’s highest court has struck down a second appeal of a state permit for a 20-acre mussel and shellfish farm off the eastern bay of Mount Desert Island.
Acadia Aqua Farms applied nearly seven years ago for a 48-acre permit that would allow it to grow blue mussels in the waters off Bar Harbor.
August 19, 2026 — North Carolina fisheries managers will consider advancing new coastal habitat protections and setting the number of commercial fishing licenses available for the coming year at the Marine Fisheries Commission meeting on August 19-20 in Raleigh.
Commissioners are scheduled to vote on whether to release a proposed 2026 amendment to the state’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan for public and advisory committee review. The action would not adopt the plan or create new fishing restrictions but could set the stage for a broader habitat rulemaking process beginning in 2027, according to the Island Free Press.
The draft amendment calls for further consideration of how fishing gear and other activities affect submerged aquatic vegetation, or underwater grass beds, as well as deep-water oyster recovery areas. Any regulations developed through that process would require additional commission approval and public review.
North Carolina’s coastal waters have historically supported nearly 200,000 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation, which provides spawning, nursery, and feeding habitat for commercial and recreationally important species. The draft says those grass beds are declining by more than 1 percent annually as water clarity, warming temperatures, and sea-level rise affect coastal waters.
The proposed habitat work would also overlap with upcoming reviews of the state’s shrimp and bay scallop fishery management plans. Marine Fisheries staff are recommending delaying the bay scallop review until 2027 so it can move forward alongside the shrimp review and habitat rule development.
If the amendment is released for review, the commission would consider comments from the public and advisory committees before the plan returns for possible final action in November.
August 19, 2026 — North Carolina violated its constitutional and public-trust obligations to protect coastal fisheries, a Wake County judge has ruled in a major victory for a recreational fishing organization and 86 residents who sued the state nearly six years ago.
Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins Jr. entered judgment for the plaintiffs on Monday after concluding that the evidence “overwhelmingly established” decades of systemic failures in the state’s management of coastal fish stocks.
The decision does not immediately ban shrimp trawling, restrict gillnets, close fishing waters or change seasons, quotas or recreational bag limits.
Those questions could be addressed during a separate remedy phase, and Collins ordered attorneys for both sides to meet within 30 days and submit a joint report within 45 days about scheduling further proceedings.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the state violated its duties and a prospective injunction requiring the state to protect and rebuild coastal fisheries, rather than monetary damages.
The 190-page order followed a trial that ran from Jan. 20 through Feb. 25 and included testimony from fisheries scientists, current and former state employees, commercial and recreational fishermen, fishing guides and other coastal residents.
Collins found the state breached the public-trust doctrine, which requires it to manage resources belonging to the public for the benefit of current and future residents.
He also found violations of two provisions of the North Carolina Constitution: Article I, Section 38, which says the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife must be preserved for the public good, and Article XIV, Section 5, which establishes a state policy of conserving and protecting lands and waters.
The lawsuit was filed in November 2020 by Coastal Conservation Association North Carolina and 86 individual plaintiffs, including five former members of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.
A 2022 N.C. Court of Appeals ruling allowed the case to proceed and held that the state has an affirmative duty to preserve the public’s right to fish, protect fisheries from destruction and manage them for the public’s benefit.
Collins said that appellate decision established the law he was required to apply during the trial.
August 18, 2026 — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has expanded the state’s artificial reef system by sinking the 180-foot Calcasieu Pass at Reef Site 13, creating new marine habitat and recreational opportunities for anglers and divers.
Reef Site 13, also known as the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, is located offshore at a point roughly equidistant from ports in Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland, due east of Bethany Beach. DNREC describes the site as the centerpiece of Delaware’s artificial reef system.
August 14, 2026 — Possible new protections for submerged grass beds and other fish habitat in the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds will move closer to public debate if the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission sends a draft Coastal Habitat Protection Plan amendment out for review next week.
The commission meets Aug. 19-20 in Raleigh and is scheduled to vote on releasing the proposed 2026 amendment for public and advisory committee review. The vote would not adopt the plan or impose new fishing restrictions.
The draft recommends beginning a separate rulemaking process in 2027 to develop a broader framework for protecting habitats under the commission’s authority.
That process could consider how fishing gear and other activities affect submerged aquatic vegetation and deep-water oyster recovery areas, along with rules governing the harvest and transplanting of vegetation for restoration projects.
Any regulations developed through that process would require additional commission action and public review.
North Carolina’s coastal waters have historically supported nearly 200,000 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation, commonly called SAV.