Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes longer Flounder/Red Snapper seasons and shrimp trawling in North Carolina.

Highlights:

• Establishes a 4-year pilot program to reopen recreational fishing for flounder and red snapper (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the flounder recreational fishing season to be no less than six weeks between May 15 and November 15 each year, with a limit of one fish per person per day and no season total limit (Sec. 1).

• Establishes a commercial flounder quota of 750,000 pounds caught, with quota overages deducted from the next year and unused quota added to the following year (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes a year-round red snapper season in state waters, with a limit of two fish per person per day and a 20-inch minimum size (Sec. 1).

• Requires a southern flounder stock assessment by July 1, 2026 (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Division of Marine Fisheries to report on flounder stock and fishing access to the legislature by August 1, 2026, with continuation annually (Sec. 2).

• Prohibits shrimp trawling, and provides the following specifications (Sec. 3):

• Prohibits the use of trawl nets for shrimp in all coastal fishing waters and in the Atlantic Ocean within one-half mile of the shoreline;

• Classifies these violations as a Class A1 misdemeanor; and

• Requires the Marine Fisheries Commission to adopt these rules and enforce them.

• Establishes a severability clause that ensures if part of the bill is deemed invalid, the rest still remains in effect (Sec. 4(a)).

• Specifies that the shrimp trawling ban will become effective December 1, 2025 (Sec. 4(b)).

• Specifies that the fishing pilot program will become effective immediately upon passage, and sections 1 and 2 of this act will expire August 1, 2029 (Sec. 4(b)).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes longer Flounder/Red Snapper seasons and shrimp trawling in North Carolina.

Highlights:

• Establishes a 4-year pilot program to reopen recreational fishing for flounder and red snapper (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the flounder recreational fishing season to be no less than six weeks between May 15 and November 15 each year, with a limit of one fish per person per day and no season total limit (Sec. 1).

• Establishes a commercial flounder quota of 750,000 pounds caught, with quota overages deducted from the next year and unused quota added to the following year (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes a year-round red snapper season in state waters, with a limit of two fish per person per day and a 20-inch minimum size (Sec. 1).

• Requires a southern flounder stock assessment by July 1, 2026 (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Division of Marine Fisheries to report on flounder stock and fishing access to the legislature by August 1, 2026, with continuation annually (Sec. 2).

• Prohibits shrimp trawling, and provides the following specifications (Sec. 3):

• Prohibits the use of trawl nets for shrimp in all coastal fishing waters and in the Atlantic Ocean within one-half mile of the shoreline;

• Classifies these violations as a Class A1 misdemeanor; and

• Requires the Marine Fisheries Commission to adopt these rules and enforce them.

• Establishes a severability clause that ensures if part of the bill is deemed invalid, the rest still remains in effect (Sec. 4(a)).

• Specifies that the shrimp trawling ban will become effective December 1, 2025 (Sec. 4(b)).

• Specifies that the fishing pilot program will become effective immediately upon passage, and sections 1 and 2 of this act will expire August 1, 2029 (Sec. 4(b)).

Full Bill Text