Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: NC fishermen challenge proposed blue crab cuts

November 19, 2025 — North Carolina’s commercial fishing advocates are raising alarms over proposed blue crab harvest restriction, just as the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) removed the expected vote from this week’s meeting agenda.

According to an updated agenda posted on Nov. 19, the action item to consider new management strategies under the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 has been taken off the table. The shift comes days after the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition submitted a resolution opposing additional restrictions on the state’s most valuable commercial fishery.

During its Nov. 5 meeting in Morehead City, the coalition- which was formed earlier this year by coastal county lawmakers- voted to oppose any new harvest measures until the next blue crab stock assessment is completed in 2026. Members argued that without a reliable assessment, major changes would be premature.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. Coastal Fisheries Coalition expands advisory team, adopts resolutions on blue crab and sheepshead regulations

November 10, 2025 — The North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition met on Wednesday, November 5, in Morehead City, where members advanced several new initiatives and voiced unified opposition to recent regulatory proposals from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF).

During the meeting, chairs of the coalition’s four standing committees—Education, Fishing Limits and Water Quality, Legislative, and Predation Management—shared updates on their initial work and priorities. The committees were formed in October to address key issues affecting the state’s commercial fishing industry.

Read the full article at Island Free Press

NORTH CAROLINA: Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition stresses lawmaker education as top priority

September 17, 2025 — Educating state and county lawmakers on ways to best serve North Carolina’s commercial fishing industry will be among the top priorities of the newly-formed NC Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition (CCFC).

The group is made up of county leaders from the state’s coastal regions who have joined together to address critical issues surrounding the state’s fishing industry and advocate for their interests in Raleigh.

The coalition was formed in response to recent legislative efforts to ban shrimp trawling and other perceived threats. In June, a late amendment to House Bill 442 sought to prohibit shrimp trawling along inshore waters and within a half mile of the coast. It was abandoned after hundreds of commercial shrimpers and their supporters protested in Raleigh in opposition to the bill.

The CCFC held its first meeting on Aug. 5 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center and met for the second time on September 16 at the same location.

A total of 12 county representatives were on hand for Tuesday’s meeting. The coalition prioritized the key issues impacting fisheries that they hope to address, including education, water quality decline, fishing/crabbing limits, trip limits, predation management, consumer marketing and increasing the transparency of data from the Marine Fisheries Commission.

The coalition agreed to appoint members to serve on sub-committees that will focus on each of the priority topics.

Read the full article at NEWS TIMES

NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina coastal leaders unite to tackle fishing industry challenges

September 17, 2025 — Coastal county leaders from North Carolina convened at the Morehead City Civic Center for the second meeting of the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition. The coalition aims to create a united front to address issues impacting the state’s commercial fishing industry.

During the meeting, leaders set priorities for the coalition, identifying education, water quality, and predator management as the top three concerns. Chris Chadwick, who was sworn in as vice chairman of the coalition, highlighted the challenges facing the industry.

Read the full article at WCTI

NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina coastal leaders unite to tackle fishing industry challenges

September 16, 2025 — Coastal county leaders from North Carolina convened at the Morehead City Civic Center for the second meeting of the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition. The coalition aims to create a united front to address issues impacting the state’s commercial fishing industry.

During the meeting, leaders set priorities for the coalition, identifying education, water quality, and predator management as the top three concerns. Chris Chadwick, who was sworn in as vice chairman of the coalition, highlighted the challenges facing the industry.

“Our crab species has become predators of other fish, our water quality runoff, and certain things like that are affecting the nursery areas,” said Chadwick. “Certainly educating our fellow legislatures in the western part of the state who may not be familiar with coastal issues like shrimping and fishing.”

Read the full article at WCTI

NORTH CAROLINA: Coastal communities host first meeting to advocate for commercial fishing industry

August 6, 2025 — The North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition had its first meeting to advocate for commercial fishing and working waterfronts.

The coalition is made up of nearly 20 county leaders from across Eastern North Carolina, all looking to advocate for the local fishing industry. The first meeting’s goals were to adopt a mission statement, discuss organization and identify share priorities.

Read the full article at WNCT

NORTH CAROLINA: Group forms to represent commercial shrimpers’ interests

July 29, 2025 — More than half of North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties will be represented at the launch of what commercial shrimping advocates envision as an organization poised to fight for the industry in Raleigh.

The inception of the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition is set to kick off in an Aug. 5 meeting in Morehead City, where coastal-based local and state elected officials and their constituents are invited to converge, discuss and formulate a plan to combat what they deem politically charged threats to commercial fishers.

“Bottom line, simple mission statement: We want to provide fresh, local seafood for our citizens and visitors and protect the livelihoods and families that harvest it,” said Dare County Board of Commissioners Chair Bob Woodard. “We’re going to do everything humanly possible to protect our commercial fishermen.”

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Crystal Coast Civic Center’s main hall, 203 College Circle.

The idea to form a coastwide coalition to defend and protect the state’s commercial fishing fleet sprouted fresh on the heels of a fierce fight that ensued in the North Carolina Legislative Building in late June.

That’s when a last-minute amendment to ban shrimp trawling in inland and nearshore coastal waters was tucked into a House bill originally authored to expand recreational access to southern flounder and red snapper. A companion bill, House Bill 441, was gutted and revised to establish a program that would pay out annual installments over three years to qualifying shrimpers.

Read the full article at Island Free Press