DEADLINE FOR COMMERCIAL FISHING LICENSE POOL IS MARCH 1

MOREHEAD CITY – Fishermen have until March 1 to get their names into the hat to receive a commercial fishing license through an eligibility pool for the current license year.

The 1997 Fisheries Reform Act established an eligibility pool process for standard commercial fishing licenses to allow new entrants into the commercial fishing industry. To be eligible for a license from the pool, an individual must meet established criteria, including past involvement and degree of reliance on commercial fishing, and other factors. An eligibility board meets periodically to review applications and issue licenses to qualified applicants.

To be eligible for consideration this license year (July 1, 2000- June 30, 2001), interested fishermen must submit a completed application package to the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Morehead City office by March 1, 2001. If applications are received after the deadline, they will not be considered until the 2001/2002 license year.

For more information on this program, please contact Cheryl DeBerardinis at the Division of Marine Fisheries by e-mail at Cheryl.DeBerardinis@ncmail.net or by calling 252-726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632.