Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: NC appeals ruling that it mismanaged the state’s coastal fisheries

September 28, 2026 — The tug-of-war between regulators and recreational fishermen isn’t over as North Carolina has decided to appeal a judge’s ruling that the state has mismanaged its coastal fisheries.

The move comes roughly a month after a Wake County judge found that there was overwhelming evidence that the state had failed to protect and manage its fish stocks in the public interest of all North Carolinians.

In the case filed by the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina and dozens of other private individuals, the recreational fishermen argued that the regulators failed to adequately protect the state’s fisheries for long-term sustainability and the benefit of all residents.

But how to turn the proverbial tide while protecting the interest of all parties − recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen and the fish themselves − remains as murky as ever. The state’s decision to appeal the case drags that process out.

North Carolina to appeal judge’s ruling on failed state fisheries management

September 24, 2026 — The U.S. state of North Carolina is appealing a court ruling that found evidence “overwhelmingly” shows the state’s government failed to protect coastal fisheries.

North Carolina Attorney General Marc Bernstein filed notice of the state’s intent to appeal on 16 September, roughly a month after Judge Bryan Collins of the Wake County Superior Court determined the evidence presented in court showed the state “failed to meet its ‘obligation to manage and protect fisheries for the benefit of the general public’ as required under the public-trust doctrine.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

North Carolina appeals ruling over fisheries management

September 18, 2026 — North Carolina is appealing a judge’s ruling that the state has failed to meet its constitutional obligation to manage and protect its fisheries, extending a years-long legal battle over coastal fishery management.

Lawyers with North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office filed a notice of appeal Wednesday, Sept. 16, according to The Carolina Journal. The appeal challenges an August ruling from Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins that found the state had breached obligations under the public trust doctrine and two provisions of the North Carolina Constitution.

“The Order in Liability Phase affects a substantial right that would be lost, prejudiced, and/or inadequately preserved without an immediate appeal,” the state said in its one-paragraph notice.

Collins issues the 190-page ruling Aug. 17 following a trial that stretched from January to February and included roughly six weeks of evidence. In his ruling, Collins concluded that the state had failed to meet its obligation to manage and protect fisheries for the general public, keep fisheries safe from “injury, harm, or destruction for all time,” and protect harvestable fish populations for North Carolina residents.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: State appeals judge’s ruling on failure to maintain NC fisheries

September 17, 2026 — The state is appealing a trial judge’s recent ruling that North Carolina government has failed to meet its constitutional obligation to maintain state fisheries.

Lawyers in state Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s office filed a notice of appeal Wednesday.

“The Order in Liability Phase affects a substantial right that would be lost, prejudiced, and/or inadequately preserved without an immediate appeal,” according to the one-paragraph notice.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins issued his 190-page ruling on Aug. 17, nearly six months after he conducted a trial that extended from January into February.

“On this trial record reflecting approximately six weeks of evidence, and after carefully weighing all of the evidence presented, the Court concludes, based on the preponderance of the evidence … that the State has failed to meet its ‘obligation to manage and protect fisheries for the benefit of the general public’ as required under the public-trust doctrine, failed to ‘keep fisheries safe from injury, harm, or destruction for all time’ as required under Article I, Section 38, and failed to ‘protect the harvestable fish population “for the benefit of the citizenry”’ as required under Article XIV, Section 5,” Collins wrote in an order issued Monday.

The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina led a group of more than 80 plaintiffs that sued the state in 2020.

“The State argues that Plaintiffs have the burden of proof and cannot carry that burden due to the substantial gaps in crucial data,” Collins wrote. “That argument is specious at best. It is the State’s duty to manage our public trust fish. The evidence is overwhelming that one of the critical aspects of that duty is to collect adequate data. The data gaps the Court has found in this case are evidence themselves of management failures by the State and not lack of evidence from Plaintiffs.”

Read the full article at The Carolina Journal

Judge finds decades of failures in coastal fisheries management

August 21, 2026 — A North Carolina judge has ruled that the state violated its constitutional and public-trust obligations to protect coastal fisheries, setting the stage for additional court proceedings that could ultimately affect how the state manages commercial and recreational fishing.

Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins Jr. entered judgment Monday in favor of Coastal Conservation Association North Carolina and 86 individual plaintiffs, concluding that evidence presented during the case “overwhelmingly established” decades of systemic failures in the state’s management of coastal fish stocks, according to Island Free Press.

The ruling does not immediately ban shrimp trawling or restrict gillnets, nor does it close fishing areas or change seasons, quotas or recreational bag limits. Those issues could be addressed during a separate remedy phase. Collins ordered attorneys for both sides to meet within 30 days and submit a joint report within 45 days regarding further proceedings.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Judge rules North Carolina breached duty to protect coastal fisheries

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.

Read the full article at Island Free Press