Saving Seafood

N.C. decides not to appeal to Supreme Court for review in lawsuit over marine fisheries regulations

October 14, 2022 — Glenn Skinner, executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a trade and lobbying group for North Carolina commercial fishermen, said Thursday he was “surprised and a little confused” by the state’s decision this week not to appeal to the state Supreme Court to reverse a September Appeals Court ruling that allows the state to be sued for alleged failure to protect North Carolina’s fisheries.

“We don’t what we’re going to do right now,” Skinner said. “We’re sort of sitting here scratching our heads.”

The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in September that the state chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association, a recreational fishermen’s group that bills itself as an advocate for “sound management of public trust marine and estuarine resources,” could sue the state, rejecting the state’s claim of sovereign immunity.

Read the full article at Carteret County News-Times

Commercial fishing takes a blow in North Carolina

October 9, 2018 — BEAUFORT, N.C. — With Hurricane Florence’s effects still to be determined, commercial fishermen seem sure to have taken hard hits, short- and long-term.

Commercial fishermen are no strangers to losing time on the water because of bad weather. However, according to commercial fisherman Brent Fulcher, who owns and operates both Beaufort Inlet Seafood and B&J Seafood in New Bern, local fishermen lost more than just a day or two.

“We lost one-and-a-half to two weeks of fishing,” Mr. Fulcher said. “A lot of people haven’t even been able to get back to work yet because they’re occupied with their personal recovery.”

Mr. Fulcher is also the chairman of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the state’s seafood industry. Association Executive Director and commercial fisherman Glenn Skinner said there’s been a lot of damage to the commercial fishing infrastructure along the state coast, such as to fish houses.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

 

Counties and fishermen’s associations file lawsuit over flounder supplement

September 27th, 2016 — Several coastal counties have joined with commercial fishermen in litigation against the State of North Carolina regarding last year’s decision by the Marine Fisheries Commission to adopt new regulations on the southern flounder fishery by using the “Supplement” process.

According to a press release issued Monday by the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the state’s seafood industry, and distributed by the N.C. Press Association, Steve Weeks, an attorney with Wheatly, Wheatly, Weeks, Lupton & Massie of Beaufort and Todd Roessler, attorney with Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton of Raleigh, are representing the plaintiffs. The complaint was filed on Sept. 23 in Carteret County Superior Civil Court in Beaufort.

The plaintiffs include NCFA Inc., the Carteret County Fisherman’s Association Inc., Carteret County, Dare County and Hyde County.

Read the full story at The Carteret County News-Times