A pair of North Carolina Senate bills filed by Senators Bobby Hanig and Norman Sanderson would freeze any new state marine fisheries rules through January 1, 2037 and roll recreational fishing regulations back to January 1, 2019 levels - a regulatory pause that would last well over a decade.
The proposal was the lead news item on the May 7 edition of the Saltwater Report, where host Bill Hitchcock walked viewers through what the bills would and would not allow. As written, the legislation would block the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Marine Fisheries Commission from adopting any new or expanded restrictions, including changes to bag and size limits, seasons, gear rules, reporting requirements and commercial-recreational allocations. Temporary emergency action tied to federal requirements, public safety or a documented fishery collapse would still be permitted.
Hitchcock framed the bills as a response to last year's so-called Shrimp Gate fight - a separate push to ban shrimp trawling in most of North Carolina's coastal waters that drew strong opposition from commercial operators. The current sponsors argue that all major regulatory changes should be paused until lawmakers can act on the long-running North Carolina Collaboratory fishery study, which was funded with $1 million almost five years ago and is yet to receive a formal hearing in the General Assembly.
Of the three figures Hitchcock contacted for comment, only Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina executive director David Sneed replied before air time.
"We are encouraged that some members of the General Assembly have recognized the completion of the collaboratory study," Sneed said. "We are not aware of any hearings or presentations from the collaboratory team at the North Carolina General Assembly. So they are long overdue to hear from Dr Fodrie and his team."
"As for how the rest of the legislation would help the state in the fiduciary duty to properly manage our public trust coastal waters, that is probably a good question for the bill sponsors," he said.
The Marine Fisheries Commission's May 13 and 14 meeting at the Doubletree in New Bern will give Dr Joel Fodrie his first formal stage to present the Collaboratory's findings, alongside a scheduled vote on Atlantic Bonito management. Public comment is set for 6pm Wednesday and 9am Thursday, with the meeting livestreamed on YouTube for anglers who cannot attend in person.
Hitchcock's broader May 7 broadcast painted a picture of a state in the middle of one of its strongest spring fisheries in years. Spanish mackerel were 'invading' along the coast, Atlantic Bonito and Sea Mullet were both kicking off, and Backbar Sport Fishing turned in what he called some of the most epic black drum footage he had ever broadcast. The host also used the program to flag two dead dolphins discovered at Masonboro Island Reserve on April 22 - in roughly the same location and at roughly the same time of year as a similar incident in 2025.
The North Carolina Fisheries Association's 2026 Seafood Lobby Day and legislative reception is scheduled for May 12 in Raleigh, ahead of the commission meeting later that week.