The public trust doctrine is a legal doctrine that is as old as the State itself, and the people of North Carolina have ratified it as a permanent part of their State Constitution. The public-trust doctrine imposes a legal duty on the State to hold and manage in trust, for the benefit of its current and future citizens, all of North Carolina’s public-trust resources. These public-trust resources include all navigable waters, including those in North Carolina’s coastal regions, as well as the lands they submerge. These public-trust resources also include the public’s use of those navigable waters, including the public’s right to navigate those waters and fish for personal use and enjoyment. And these public-trust resources include the fish that swim in those public waters, which the State holds in trust for the benefit of all North Carolinians.