When do I fill out a trip ticket? Seafood dealers are required to complete a trip ticket for each transaction, at the time and place of landing. Trip tickets should be filled out accurately and legibly.
Can I combine landings from several days and record them on one trip ticket? No. Complete one trip ticket per fishing trip. A separate trip ticket is required for each fishing trip. Landings from multiple trips are NOT to be combined and recorded on one trip ticket.
Are the data confidential? Yes! Trip ticket data are not public record (G.S. 113-170.3). The DMF may compile statistical information in summary form, which does not disclose the identity of any licensee. The DMF can use the data for program administration, enforcement, and determining conservation policies.
If a fisherman is also a dealer and sells to other dealers, as well as non-dealers, how should the catch be recorded ? If a fisherman also holds a Fish Dealer license, trip tickets must be completed at the point of landing. If the “fisherman/dealer” then sells his catch to another fish dealer, a trip ticket should already have been completed, and the “second” fish dealer is only required to show a receipt or bill of purchase to verify the purchase. The “second” dealer does not complete a trip ticket.
As a dealer, could I be cited if I do not put the fisherman's license numbers on the form even though I filled out the rest of the ticket? Yes! The dealer is responsible for the accuracy of all trip ticket reporting requirements, which includes information on the types of licenses held by the seller.
What information is required on the trip ticket? Fisherman's name, fisherman's current and valid license number, a current and valid Commercial Fishing Vessel Registration number (P-number), number of crew, fish dealer number, trip start date, unloading date, number of crab/peeler pots fished, gear(s) used, water body fished, amount of catch by species, shrimp species type, heads on/off (shrimp), lease number and other information the DMF deems necessary.
What is the deadline for reporting my data? The DMF copies ( the pink and yellow copies) of completed trip tickets, and a completed green submittal/transaction form for any given month must be received by DMF on or before the 10 th of thefollowing month. For example, tickets recorded from January 1 to January 31 are due at DMF by February 10. If a partial shipment is mailed for any given month, a final shipment to complete the month is still required on or before the 10th of the following month. If no landings occur and no trip tickets are completed for a given month, a submittal/transaction form indicating “0” transactions is still required on or before the 10th of the following month.
Do I have to report every month even if I am closed certain months out of the year? If you know in advance that you will not be buying seafood during certain months of the year, you can let the Trip Ticket Program know by circling those months on a green submittal form. You will not have to report for the months you circled as “seasonally closed.” If you should happen to have transactions during a seasonally closed month, complete trip tickets and send them in by the due date. You will have to indicate again on that month’s submittal form if you are going to continue to be seasonally closed (once a dealer submits a trip ticket while seasonally closed, it automatically cancels the “seasonally closed” status and the dealer must return to reporting monthly until seasonally closed months are indicated again).
If I don’t do anything during the month, do I still have to report? Dealers must report to the Trip Ticket Program monthly as long as a current and valid fish dealer license is held, and you have not alerted the Trip Ticket Program that you are seasonally closed by circling closed months on the submittal/transaction form. If no purchases are made in any given month, a submittal/transaction form indicating “0” trip tickets for the month, must be submitted by the due date.
What happens if I do not report by the due date? Dealers who do not report by the 10th of the following month are in violation of Trip Ticket Program reporting requirements. Commercial port agents will call or visit dealers to remind them of their non-compliant status. If unable to make contact with the dealer, a certified letter will be sent notifying the dealer that trip tickets are overdue. Dealers failing to report seven days after receiving and signing for the letter are turned over to the Division’s Marine Patrol for further action.
How long must I keep my copies of the trip tickets? A dealer must retain copies of trip tickets for a period of not less than three years. [MFC Rule 3I.0114 (a), (1) (2) and (3)].
How do I record shellfish lease information? The DMF requires verification of shellfish lease harvest amounts based on reported trip ticket landings. Shellfish leaseholders and shellfish dealers are to ensure that lease numbers are recorded accurately on the #7 Shellfish Type trip tickets. If a shellfish transaction originates from more than one lease, dealers are to record the harvest from each lease on a separate trip ticket (one trip ticket per lease) and record the appropriate transaction number. | 
