Keith Lusher 08.24.26
A six-year legal battle over the future of North Carolina’s coastal fisheries has ended with a major victory for recreational anglers.
Wake County Superior Court has ruled that the State of North Carolina failed in its legal duty to protect coastal fisheries for the public, siding with the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina and 86 citizens who sued the state in 2020.
The 190-page ruling followed a six-week trial earlier this year and found “overwhelming evidence” that the state failed to meet its obligations to preserve coastal fisheries.
Perhaps the most alarming finding involved the condition of North Carolina’s state-managed fisheries. According to the ruling, evidence showed that none of the state’s 13 state-managed coastal fish stocks currently meets the standard for long-term viability.
Testimony during the trial also painted a troubling picture of how those fisheries have been managed.
One state witness said they did not know what “long-term viability” meant, despite that standard being central to fisheries management in North Carolina.
Another state witness described decades of failed management as “a learning experience.”
Meanwhile, a nationally respected marine biologist testified that North Carolina’s fisheries management was “for sure” the worst he had seen in the United States.
The battle dates back decades.
North Carolina passed the Fisheries Reform Act in 1997, requiring fishery management plans for commercially and recreationally significant fisheries with the goal of ensuring their long-term viability.
However, recreational fishing and conservation groups have long argued that management practices failed to reverse declines in important coastal species.
CCA NC and 86 citizens, including five former members of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission, sued the state in 2020.
The case cleared a major hurdle in 2022 when the North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the state has an affirmative duty to preserve the public’s right to fish and protect fisheries from long-term harm.
Mike Leonard, vice president of government affairs for the American Sportfishing Association, called the latest decision “groundbreaking.”
Leonard, who has fished the Outer Banks throughout his life, said he has watched the decline firsthand.
“It’s been extremely disheartening to see the steady decline in the health of its fisheries,” Leonard said.
He credited CCA NC for continuing the legal fight and said he hopes the ruling finally leads to meaningful change.
“Hopefully this decision leads to real change that gives the next generation some hope to actually be able to catch some fish.”
Exactly what happens next remains to be seen. Additional court proceedings are expected to determine what remedies will be required.
For recreational anglers, however, the ruling could mark the beginning of one of the biggest changes in North Carolina coastal fisheries management in decades.
