North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 03 - MARINE FISHERIES › Subchapter O - LICENSES, LEASES, FRANCHISES AND PERMITS › Section .0300 - RECREATIONAL COMMERCIAL GEAR LICENSES › Section 03O .0302 - AUTHORIZED GEAR

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) The following
				  are the only commercial fishing gear authorized (including restrictions) for
				  use under a valid Recreational Commercial Gear License:
(1) One seine 30 feet or over in length but
				  not greater than 100 feet with a mesh length less than 2 1/2 inches when
				  deployed or retrieved without the use of a vessel or any other mechanical
				  methods. A vessel may be used only to transport the seine;
(2) One shrimp trawl with a headrope not
				  exceeding 26 feet in length per vessel.
(3) With or without a vessel, five eel, fish,
				  shrimp, or crab pots in any combination, except only two pots of the five may
				  be eel pots. Peeler pots are not authorized for recreational
				  purposes;
(4) One multiple hook or
				  multiple bait trotline up to 100 feet in length;
(5) Gill Nets:
(A) Not more than 100 yards of gill nets with
				  a mesh length equal to or greater than 2 1/2 inches except as provided in (C)
				  of this Subparagraph. Attendance is required at all times;
(B) Not more than 100 yards of gill nets with
				  a mesh length equal to or greater than 5 1/2 inches except as provided in (C)
				  of this Subparagraph. Attendance is required when used from one hour after
				  sunrise through one hour before sunset in internal coastal fishing waters east
				  and north of the Highway 58 Bridge at Emerald Isle and in the Atlantic Ocean
				  east and north of 77° 04.0000' W. Attendance is required at all times in
				  internal coastal fishing waters west and south of the Highway 58 Bridge at
				  Emerald Isle and in the Atlantic Ocean west and south of 77° 04.0000' W;
				  and
(C) Not more than 100 yards of
				  gill net may be used at any one time, except that when two or more Recreational
				  Commercial Gear License holders are on board, a maximum of 200 yards may be
				  used from a vessel;
(D) It is
				  unlawful to possess aboard a vessel more than 100 yards of gill nets with a
				  mesh length less than 5 1/2 inches and more than 100 yards of gill nets with a
				  mesh length equal to or greater than 5 1/2 inches identified as recreational
				  commercial fishing equipment when only one Recreational Commercial Gear License
				  holder is on board. It is unlawful to possess aboard a vessel more than 200
				  yards of gill nets with a mesh length less than 5 1/2 inches and more than 200
				  yards of gill nets with a mesh length equal to or greater than 5 1/2 inches
				  identified as recreational commercial fishing equipment when two or more
				  Recreational Commercial Gear License holders are on board;
(6) A hand-operated device generating
				  pulsating electrical current for the taking of catfish in the area described in
				  15A NCAC
				  03J .0304;
(7) Skimmer trawls not exceeding 26 feet in
				  total combined width.
(8) One pound
				  net used to take shrimp with each lead 10 feet or less in length and with a
				  minimum lead net mesh of 1 1/2 inches, and enclosures constructed of net mesh
				  of 1 1/4 inches or greater and with all dimensions being 36 inches or less.
				  Attendance is required at all times and all gear must be removed from the water
				  when not being fished. Gear is to be marked and set as specified in
				  15A NCAC
				  03J .0501.