The N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committee will meet jointly with the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee by webinar at 2:30 p.m. July 30.

The public may listen to the meeting by phone or listen and view presentations in real-time by joining online. Directions for calling in by phone or joining the webinar online, including information on system requirements and testing are available at portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/listen-public-meeting.

Public comment will not be accepted during the meeting. Members of the public may submit written comments to the commission in two ways:

Online Comments – Public comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. July 28 through an online format that can be reached at deq.nc.gov/commercial-fishing-resource-funding-committees-comment-form.

Mailed Comments – Written comments may be mailed to July 2020 CFRF Meeting Comments, P.O Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557. Comments must be received by the division by 5 p.m. July 28.

Public comment will not be accepted through email.

The committees will review and vote on extending the current NC Commercial Fishing Public Relations project by six months with 50% of the budget from 2020 under the current guidelines. The committees voted to request this proposal at its June 3 meeting. The meeting agenda and meeting packet are available online.

The Commercial Fishing Resource Fund receives money from an increase in commercial fishing license fees that took effect in 2015. The fund pays for observer coverage to fulfill the state’s obligations under incidental take permits for sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Any additional money left in the fund is to be used for projects to develop and support sustainable commercial fishing in the state.

Spending for these projects must be approved by the Commercial Fishing Resource Funding Committee, which is made up of six commercial fishing representatives, and the Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Fishing Resource Fund Committee, comprised of members of the commission holding the three commercial fishing seats.

For more information, contact William Brantley with the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Administrative Services Office at 252-808-8015 or William.Brantley@ncdenr.gov.

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