News & Events
IMPORTANT REMINDER:
All Charter-for-hire and recreational anglers are required to have an Estuarine Gill Net Permit
(EGNP) to set a gill net to harvest bait fish. It is also compulsory to be in compliance with the
new Observer Trip Scheduling System (OTSS) which went live February 17, 2025.
The NC Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) defines the ruling:
“If this sector is setting/fishing a gill net that is not a run-around/strike/drop gill net or drift gill
net (definitions below), then they are required to have an EGNP to set those nets regardless of if
it’s recreational or commercial.”
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Run-around, strike, or drop gill nets - gill nets that are actively fished by either (1) using the
boat to run a net around a school of fish, creating a closed circle, or (2) using the boat after the
net is set to herd fish into the net without delay, whereby soak time does not exceed 30 minutes
from the end of the set to the beginning of the haul.
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Drift gill nets - gill nets that are used to capture fish while being moved along by water currents
whereby the net stays attached to the vessel from deployment through retrieval.
Specifics on the both new programs are outlined in the NCDMF website, deq.nc.gov, with the
full OTSS Rollout Packet.
The NCWU strongly encourages all sectors to be cognizant these new regulations.