Senate Bill 374 (Modify For-Hire License Logbook Requirement) Sent to the Governor | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     Senate Bill 374 (Modify For-Hire License Logbook Requirement) sponsored by Senator Bill Cook (R-District 1) recently came back to the Senate from the House for concurrence. The North Carolina Senate concurred to the amended changes from the House on SB 374, with a vote of 45-2, on July 29, 2015. The bill was presented to the Governor on July 31, 2015.

    The first part of this legislation repeals the for-hire coastal recreational fishing licenses logbook requirement. Several recreational fishermen expressed that imposing a mandatory logbook requirement was an intrusion of privacy.

    "This is an example of how the General Assembly is dedicated to removing the red tape that chokes off growth to our working watermen - both commercial and recreational. A mandatory logbook requirement would have been time-consuming to an industry that is already in a highly regulated business environment," Cook said.

    Additionally, the bill prohibits the Director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) from entering into a Joint Enforcement Agreement (JEA) between the state's Marine Patrol and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Last year, in a letter to the Director of DMF, Cook was joined by 21 other legislators in opposing JEA.

    "The Fisheries Reform Act of 1997 states that North Carolina has one of the most diverse fisheries in the United States, and that North Carolina will manage and regulate our coastal fishery resources," Cook said. "We strongly see no benefit of a JEA with National Marine Fisheries Service to our state or to the citizens. I am very pleased that this bill will forbid DMF from entering into a JEA with the federal government. I would like to thank Representative Chris Millis for spearheading this bill in the House."

    The legislation has the backing of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, North Carolina Watermen United and the Recreational Fishermen Alliance of North Carolina.


     300 N. Salisbury Street
     Room 525 • Raleigh, NC 27603

    Phone: (919) 715-8293  •  Fax: (919) 754-3296  •  bill.cook@ncleg.net