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North Carolina Marine Fisheries Proclamation FF-7-2022 opened the Atlantic Ocean commercial black sea bass fishery north of Cape Hatteras at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 and sets the harvest period and offload limits.

The fishery will close by proclamation once the annual North Carolina quota is reached or at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 whichever occurs first.

In this fishery:

– Do not possess black sea bass less than 11 inches total length (excluding the caudal fin filament) north of Cape Hatteras.

– For a commercial fishing operation employing fish pots, traps, and/or hook and line gear, regardless of the number of people involved, do not possess or land more than 2,000 pounds of black sea bass per week. For the purpose of this proclamation, a week shall be from 12:01 a.m., Sunday to midnight the following Saturday.

– For a commercial fishing operation employing trawls, regardless of the number of people involved, do not offload more than 5,000 pounds of black sea bass during the harvest period.

For a commercial fishing operation employing any other gear not listed above, regardless of the number of people involved, do not possess or land more than 100 pounds of black sea bass per trip.

– Vessels employing trawls can possess landing limits for other states, but it is unlawful to offload those fish in North Carolina.

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