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|  2011 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide
for Sports Fishermen July 2011 Version
(Website chart reflects the most recent changes to size and bag limits) Read and print the PDF version of this Rec Guide
New weakfish bag limit effective May 16, 2010. See FF-54-2010
New Snapper/Grouper rules effective June 17, 2011. See FF-58-2011
New Spotted Seatrout size and bag limits effective June 6, 2011. See FF-57-2011
For inland fishing regulations contact Wildlife Resources Commission (919) 707-0220
or visit their website www.ncwildlife.org
A Coastal Recreational Fishing License went into effect Jan. 1, 2007
for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. | | State Coastal Waters
(Internal and 0-3 Miles) | Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ
(3-200 miles) | Finfish Species
(note symbols) | Minimum Length | Bag Limits
(Per Person) | Minimum Length | Bag Limits
(Per Person) | Alewife and
blueback herring | None | NO POSSESSION | None | NO POSSESSION | | Amberjack, greater | 28" FL | 1/Day | 28" FL | 1/Day | Bass, striped
See striped bass details | (A) | (A) | Unlawful To Possess | | Bluefish | None | 15/Day
Only 5 greater than 24" TL | None | 15/Day | | Cobia | 33" FL | 2/Day | 33" FL | 2/Day | | Dolphin (B) | None | 10/Day | None | 10/Day | Drum, red
(Channel Bass,
Puppy Drum) | 18-27" TL (C) | 1/Day | Unlawful to Possess | | Eel, American | 6" TL | 50/Day | 6" TL | 50/Day | Flounder
Gulf, Southern
| 15" TL | 6/Day | 15" TL | 6/Day | | Groupers (H, I, J, K) | (See below) | (See below) | (See below) | (See below) | Groupers;
red, scamp, yellowfin
and yellowmouth | 20" TL | 3/Day (all groupers combined; includes 1 golden tilefish, and no more than 1 black or gag grouper, individual or combined) (J) | 20" TL | 3/Day (all groupers combined; includes tilefish,
1 golden tilefish, and no more than 1 black or gag grouper, individual or combined) (J) | Groupers
black and gag | 24" TL | 1/Day (See above) | 24" TL | 1/Day
(See above) | | Grouper, Warsaw | NO POSSESSION | NO POSSESSION | NO POSSESSION | | Grouper, snowy | 1 / vessel / day | | 1 / vessel / day | | Hind, speckled
(Kitty Mitchell) | NO POSSESSION | NO POSSESSION | NO POSSESSION | Hogfish
(Hog snapper) | 12" TL | 5/Day | | | Mackerel, king (I)
Species Identification | 24" FL | 3/Day | 24" FL | 3/Day | Mackerel, Spanish (I)
Species Identification | 12" FL | 15/Day | 12" FL | 15/Day | | Marlin, blue(G) | 99" LJFL | 1/vessel/trip either Blue or White Marlin | 99" LJFL | | | Marlin, white (G) | 66" LJFL | 1/vessel/trip either Blue or White Marlin | 66" LJFL | | Mullet
(Striped and White) | None | 200/Day
(species combined) | None | | Porgy, red
(Silver snapper, pinky) | 14" TL | 3/Day | 14" TL | 3/Day | | Reef Complex Species Includes sheepshead, spadefish, gray triggerfish, white grunt, knobbed porgy and more (see notes H and I) | | 20/Day | | 20/Day | | Sailfish (G) | 63" LJFL | 1/Day | 63" LJFL | | Scup
(North of Cape Hatteras) | 8" TL | 50/Day | 10.5" TL | 50/Day (D) | Seatrout, spotted (speckled)(O)
See FF-57-2011 | 14" TL | 6/day (O)
| | | Sea bass, black
(North of Cape Hatteras) | 12 ½ “ TL | 25/Day | 12 ½" TL | 25/Day | Sea bass, black
(South of Cape Hatteras) (D)
See FF-39-2011 | 12" TL
| 5/Day | 12" TL | 5/Day |
Shad, American (P) | None | 10/Day
No possession
in ocean waters | Unlawful To Possess | | Shad, hickory (P) | None | 10/Day | None | 10/Day | Sharks(I)
(excluding spiny and smooth dogfish) | (E, L) | 1/Vessel/Day | 54"FL (E, L) | 1/Vessel/Day | | Sharks, Atlantic sharpnose and bonnethead (E) | None | (F) | (E, L) | 1/Day | Snappers;
dog, gray, cubera, mahogany, queen, schoolmaster and yellowtail | | 10/Day
(Species combined) | 12" TL | 10/Day
(Species combined) | | Snappers, mutton | | See Above | 16" TL | See Above | | Snappers; silk and blackfin | 12" TL | See Above | 12" TL | See Above | | Snapper, red | NO POSSESSION | NO POSSESSION | | Snapper, vermilion (J) | 12" TL | 5/Day | 12" TL | 5/Day | | Tarpon | None | 1/Day | None | 1/Day | | Tuna(I);bluefin(G), yellowfin and bigeye | Yellowfin 27" CFL
Bigeye 27" CFL | Yellowfin 3 per day | Yellowfin tuna 27" CFL | Yellowfin Tuna
3 per day | | Wahoo | None | 2/Day | None | 2/Day | Weakfish
(gray trout) | 12" TL | 1/Day
see FF-54-2010) | 12" TL | | Prohibited Finfish Species | Coastal Waters
(Internal waters and Atlantic Ocean out to 3 miles | Federal Waters / EEZ
(Atlantic Ocean more than 3 miles) | Sharks;
(whale, basking, white, sand tiger, bigeye sand tiger, Atlantic angel
shark, bigeye sixgill, bigeye thresher, bignose, Caribbean reef,
Caribbean sharpnose, dusky, Galapogos, longfin mako, narrowtooth, night,
sandbar, silky, sevengill, sixgill, and smalltail), sturgeon, Nassau
grouper, Goliath grouper (jewfish), Warsaw grouper, speckled hind and
red snapper. | Sharks;
(whale, basking, white, sand tiger, bigeye sand tiger, Atlantic angel
shark, bigeye sixgill, bigeye thresher, bignose, Caribbean reef,
Caribbean sharpnose, dusky, Galapogos, longfin mako, narrowtooth, night,
sandbar, silky, sevengill, sixgill, and smalltail), red drum, striped
bass, sturgeon, Nassau grouper, Goliath grouper (jewfish) and longbill
spearfish. | Shellfish and Crustaceans
State Coastal and EEZ Waters
Internal and 0-200 miles | Species
(note symbols) | Minimum Size | Bag Limits
(Per Person) | | Bay Scallops (N) | None | 1/2 bushel/day, not to exceed one bushel per vessel | Blue Crab (M)
Identification Help | 5" Carapace Width (Minimum)
6 3/4" Carapace Width (Maximum) (F) | 50 crabs/day not to exceed 100 crabs/vessel/day | | Conchs and Whelks | None | 10/day not to exceed 20/vessel/day | | Hard Clam | 1" Thick | 100 clams/day not to exceed 200 clams/vessel/day | | Mussels | None | 100/day not to exceed 200/vessel/day | | Oyster (N) | 3" Shell Length | 1 bushel/day not to exceed 2 bushels/vessel/day | Shrimp
(Closed shrimping area) | None | 100 shrimp/person/day (Cast net only) | Shrimp
(Open shrimping area) | None | 48 qts. heads on, 30 qts. heads off
(Per person or vessel except RCGL max. 2 limits/vessel) | (A)
Albemarle Sound Management Area: contact DMF for seasons, areas or
other limits; Atlantic Ocean year-round: 2 per person per day at 28” TL
minimum; Other coastal areas (excluding Inland Waters-regulations set by
Wildlife Resources Commission), 2 per person per day at 18” TL minimum
and unlawful to possess between 22” – 27” TL in Joint waters. Moratorium
in Cape Fear River system. Season October through April, statewide by
proclamation (except Cape FearRiver). Includes hybrid bass. (B) Limit of 10/person/day or 60/trip, whichever is less. On headboats, limit is 10/person/day. (C) Unlawful to possess red drum greater than 27 inches total length. Unlawful to gig, spear, or gaff red drum. (D) North of Cape Hatteras
scup recreational season is July 6 through September 26. Black sea bass
north of Hatteras seasons are July 1 through September 25 and November
through December.
(E) See prohibited species list above; Legal
sharks include: tiger, blacktip, spinner, lemon, bull, nurse, smooth and
scalloped and great hammerhead, blacknose, finetooth, bonnethead,
shortfin mako, blue, thresher, porbeagle, and oceanic whitetip. One (1)
Atlantic sharpnose (no minimum size) and one bonnethead (no minimum
size) per person per day may be landed in addition to allowable bag
limits for other sharks.
(F) Mature female crabs are exempt
from minimum size. Maximum size is effective September through April and
applies to mature females only.
(G) In state or federal
waters, federal permit required for Highly Migratory Species, excluding
Atlantic bonito, little tunny (albacore), and blackfin tuna: (978)
281-9370. Prior to removal from vessel, all billfishes, swordfish and
bluefin tuna must be reported at NC HMS reporting stations. | (H)
Reef complex species: whitebone porgy, jolthead porgy, knobbed porgy,
longspine porgy, sheepshead, gray triggerfish, queen triggerfish, yellow
jack, crevalle jacks, bar jack, almaco jack, lesser amberjack, banded
rudderfish, white grunt, margates, spadefish and scup. 20 per person per
day in combination.
(I) For seasons, bag limits, size limits
or closures for tunas, billfishes, and sharks contact NMFS Highly
Migratory Species Division 1-800-894-5528. For snapper, grouper, and
mackerels contact the South Atlantic Council ((843) 571-4366 or www.safmc.net) and see Proclamation FF-59-2011.
(J) Vermilion snapper season is closed November 1-March 31. Shallow
water grouper species (gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, rock
hind, red hind, coney, grasby, yellowfin, grouper, yellowmouth grouper
and tiger grouper) harvest is prohibited January 1–April 30. Possession of red snapper is currently prohibited.
(K) Groupers in the management unit include: red, yellowfin,
yellowmouth, black, warsaw, snowy, yellowedge, and misty grouper; gag,
scamp, speckled hind, red hind, rock hind, graysby, and coney. The three
(3) grouper bag limit in the EEZ also includes blueline, golden, and
sand tilefish. No possession of Nassau and Goliath grouper.
(L) It is unlawful to possess Large Coastal and Pelagic sharks less than 54 inches (Fork Length).
(M) One crab pot may be used from private property or private pier, without a license – Reference 15A NCAC 3J .0302.
(N) Contact DMF or visit http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamations for seasons, areas, or other restrictions.
(O) Of those six, no more than two (2) shall be greater than 24 inches total length. (P) It is unlawful to possess more than 10 American shad or hickory shad in the aggregate per person per day.
| Total length
(TL) is measured from tip of snout with mouth closed to top of
compressed tail. Fork length (FL) is measured from tip of snout to
middle of fork in tail. Lower jaw fork length (LJFL) is measured from
lower jaw to middle of fork in tail. Curved fork length (CFL) is the
measurement of the length taken in a line tracing the contour of the
body from the tip of the upper jaw to the fork of the tail.
Anglers cannot catch both a federal and state bag limit for the same species on the same trip. Ocean boundary is defined as water seaward of the COLREGS Demarcation Lines as indicated on National Ocean Service navigation charts No
one may possess aboard a vessel or while engaged in fishing any fish
subject to limits without head and tail attached, except for alewife and
blueback herring used for bait provided not more than two fish per
boat/operation may be cut at any one time – Reference 15A NCAC 3M .0101 IMPORTANT Check with Division of Marine Fisheries for most current minimum lengths and catch limits. (252) 726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632.
For inland water limits contact Wildlife Resources Commission (919) 707-0220 or visit their website:
www.ncwildlife.org
This document is a public record under chapter 132 of the North
Carolina General Statutes. Anyone who alters, defaces, mutilates or
destroys it shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction subject
to fines. Please NOTE! If you bookmark this page or place it in your
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THIS DOCUMENT IS EFFECTIVE JUNE 16, 2011 AND IS FOR GENERAL
INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND HAS NO LEGAL FORCE OR EFFECT. FISHERY RULES
ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THESE RESTRICTIONS APPLY TO FISH TAKEN FOR
RECREATIONAL PURPOSE AND INCLUDE HOOK AND LINE. Updated State
regulations can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/recreational-fishing-size-and-bag-limits and updated Recreational Commercial Gear License information can be found at www.ncdmf.net/license/RCGL.htm
(Updated 7/1/11) |
Morehead City Office
(24 hours)
1-800-682-2632 or
(252) 726-7021 | Elizabeth City Office
1-800-338-7805 or
(252) 264-3911 | Manteo Office
(252) 473-5734 | Washington Office
1-800-338-7804 or
(252) 946-6481 | Wilmington Office
1-800-248-4536 or
(910) 796-7215 | NMFS
(Fed. Reg.)
(813) 893-3722 |
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