After last year's extremely limited flounder and red snapper fishing seasons, state lawmakers are considering intervening.
House Bill 442 would order the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to have recreational seasons for both species through 2029.
Flounder was entirely off-limits in 2024 to coastal recreational fishers, the agency decided, because too many fish were caught the summer before.
The bill to intervene in the rule-making process is supported by a large group of mostly Republicans in the House.
It calls for a recreational season that would open some time on or after May 15 and close before or on Nov. 15 each year through 2029. At least one fish a day could be taken, and catch and release wouldn't count toward any quotas.
Flounder could soon be deemed overfished in the Southeast, as the population is declining, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The fishery cratered in the late 1980s, and has been painstakingly rebuilt in the years since.
Rep. Jay Adams, R-Catawba, chairs the House's Wildlife Resources Committee. He argued restrictions are driving people to other states, and that's bad for local economies.
"They say, 'Why even try in the North Carolina coast?' That's where we are. And these are lifelong fishermen, very devoted people. I hear about it a lot," Adams said Tuesday. "We've got to do something."
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council places its own strict limits on red snapper that this bill couldn't overrule.
The stock of red snapper in the southern Atlantic Ocean is overfished, though the population is growing, NOAA Fisheries reports. Those living in the Gulf of Mexico are doing far better.
Flounder a contentious subject in NC
After the DMF closed the 2024 flounder season, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announced recreational fishers could have a four-day flounder season in the waters over which it has jurisdiction, the Island Free Press reported.
DMF makes rules for the state's coastal waters, while WRC manages freshwater inland. The agencies jointly manage brackish waters, so they both have some say-so over flounder.
Commercial fishers are allocated 70% of North Carolina's flounder quota, a percentage that's been controversial, the Carteret County News-Times reported.
"Commercial fisherman have had a disproportionately high influence on how the resources are managed," Rep. Frank Iler, R-Brunswick and one of the bill's primary sponsors, said on Tuesday.
The bill sailed through the Wildlife Resources Committee on Tuesday, and must be heard in at least two other committees before the full House can vote on it.
The bill must pass the House before May 8 to be taken up by the Senate this session.
