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The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will meet March 12-13 at the Hilton Garden Inn, located at 5353 N. Virginia Dare Trail in Kitty Hawk.

The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12 with a public comment session. The commission will also hold a public comment session at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, to allow additional opportunity for in-person comments; however, due to schedule constraints, the commission will vote on some agenda items prior to the 6 p.m. comment session. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 13.

The following information pertains to the in-person public comment sessions:

• Those who wish to speak may sign up at the hotel prior to the public comment period.
• To accommodate as many speakers as possible, the chair will limit each speaker to three minutes.
• Those making comments will be asked to speak only once, either at 2 p.m. or at 6 p.m. but not during both public comment periods.
• Those who wish to submit handouts to the commission during the public comment period should bring at least 12 copies to the meeting.

The public may also submit written comments via the following methods:

• An online form accessible through the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.
• Mail to Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting Comments, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557.
• Dropped off at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Morehead City Headquarters Office at 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City.

The deadline to submit written comments for this meeting is 4 p.m. on Monday, March 10. Those who submitted comments for the February meeting, which was postponed due to inclement weather, need not submit them again.

The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube. The link will be posted on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage. After the meeting, a recording will be posted online. Agenda items for this meeting include:

• Final adoption of rules:
  • 15A NCAC 03J .0301 – Simplify Pot Marking Requirements,
  • 15A NCAC 03M .0523 – False Albacore Management, and
  • 15A NCAC 03O .0601-.0606 – Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact;
• Review of public comment and selection of preferred management options for the Oyster Fishery Management Plan Amendment 5 and Hard Clam Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3;
• Approval of the draft Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4 for public and advisory committee review; and
• Final adoption of the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan Amendment 1.

The full agenda and briefing book are posted on the Marine Fisheries Commission Meetings webpage.

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