The public comment period will soon close for the mandatory reporting rules for several species of fish, including by recreational anglers in eastern North Carolina.
Under the law, recreational fishermen must report harvests of red drum, flounder, spotted seatrout, striped bass and weakfish to the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission.
Those reports will most likely have to be submitted electronically through a smartphone app or computer.
Commercial fishers will have to report all fish harvested, including those they don’t sell but use for bait or to feed their families. They will also record the catch they sell to dealers on trip-ticket forms, which the dealer will then send each month to the state fisheries division.
The law does not require fishermen to report their discarded catch, or fish that are caught and released.
Fishermen must report their harvest beginning Dec. 1, and the first violation will include a verbal warning. Buy December 2026, violators will incur a $35 fine and face suspension of their fishing licenses and permits.
The comment period will close at 5 p.m. on Monday. Information about submitting a commentis available on the commission's website.
