NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES
Marine Hsheries
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Annual Fisheries Bulletin
2015 Commercial and Recreational Statistics
License and Statistics Section, PO Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557
June 2016
The Annual Fisheries Bulletin contains the North Carolina commercial and recreational fisheries harvest statistics for 201 5.
Included in this bulletin are the 2015 landings and harvest information from the commercial and recreational fisheries
programs, along with the 201 1 to 201 4 landings for comparison. The bulletin also contains a summary of commercial fishing
trips by major gears.
The North Carolina Trip Ticket Program collects commercial fishery landings and effort statistics. This program mandates
trip level fish dealer reporting of all finfish and shellfish landed in the state. Recreational fishery harvest and effort statistics
are derived from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) that conducts recreational angler interviews at public
access points and telephone/mail surveys.
Total Pounds Harvested in 2015
Commercial
Recreational
65,952,115 pounds
11,631,370 pounds
Top Five Species Caught in Each Fishery
Commercial
Species
Pounds
Blue Crabs, Hard
31,046,312
Shrimp (Heads On)
9,097,660
Dogfish, Spiny
4,247,213
Flounder, Summer
2,878,753
Croaker, Atlantic
1,819,066
Recreational
Species
Pounds
Dolphin
3,157,964
Bluefish
769,262
Tuna, Yellowfin
723,127
Cobia
675,859
Wahoo
534,787
Issued by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Department of Environmental Quality.
For additional information regarding Commercial and Recreational Statistics, please contact:
Alan Bianchi, Commercial Statistics
(252) 726-7021 or (800) 682-2632
alan.bianchi@ncdenr.gov
Doug Mumford, Recreational Statistics
(252) 948-3876 or (800) 338-7804
doua.mumford@ncdenr.gov
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