Is it time to “reel in” N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission?

Perhaps it’s time we look in on the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and try to assess why this body is so “interested” in trying to implement a statewide shrimp trawling ban.

Shrimpers, those who fish commercially and recreationally, are not happy about how the North Carolina Senate tried to “cram it (anti-trawling legislation) down our throats,” wrote Nelson Paul, a columnist for the Carolina Journal, a publication sponsored by the conservative John Locke Foundation in Raleigh.

Among those groups stirring the pot to destroy the livelihood of shrimpers, Paul said, is the NCWRC, an agency of state government, which is supposed to be “neutral” when it comes to politics.

 

Yet, the NCWRC contacted by email everyone who has a state fishing license – some 1.5 million folks – to ask them to support anti-trawling legislation that would devastate the shrimping industry in North Carolina.

That’s inexcusable behavior, and Michael Kyle Briggs (shown below), executive director of the commission, ought to be called on the carpet. He took command on Jan. 1, 2025, having risen through the ranks within the agency. Briggs began his career more than 30 years ago at NCWRC as an inland fisheries technician.

 

Today, Briggs oversees approximately 700 permanent employees and manages an annual operating budget of approximately $110 million.  

The NCWRC was established in 1947 by the General Assembly and “charged with the stewardship of North Carolina’s fish and wildlife resources as well as providing programs and opportunities that allow hunters, anglers, boaters and other outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy wildlife associated recreation.”

The commission has regulatory powers to enforce the state’s fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws. 

The NCWRC is primarily funded through the sale of licenses, federal grants and legislative appropriations. It operates with a significant degree of financial independence.

There are 19 members of the NCWRC. The Governor appoints 11: one from each of the nine wildlife districts and two at-large members. The General Assembly appoints eight members, with four being recommended by the Speaker of the House and four by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

Carteret County is one of 12 counties in Wildlife District 2 and is currently represented by Mike Alford of Jacksonville (shown below). He is owner and president of automotive dealerships in Jacksonville and New Bern. 

The chair of the NCWRC is Monty Crump (shown below), who is employed as the city manager in Rockingham in Richmond County.

 

The NCWRC is accountable to the legislature. Paul and others suggest that the NCWRC is a fairly isolated and insulated agency with significant resources, power and authority, but subject to a minimal amount of oversight.

Using the fishing license mailing list “to directly propagandize the hook-and-line fishing public about the supposed evils of shrimp trawling is a blatantly political act,” Paul said.

“This was an obvious attempt by (an agency of) state government to tilt this debate in the direction of the anti-trawling proponents. Exactly what jurisdiction does the NCWRC have over shrimp trawling anyhow?”

“The NCWRC should have stayed out of the debate. This should be a red-flag warning that this proposed ban is all just a setup to unnecessarily destroy this vital fishing industry and the deep-seated shrimping traditions coastal families have enjoyed for generations.”

“State environmental resource agencies should be protecting the environment FOR the people, not FROM the people,” Paul asserted.

Folks are suggesting that the time has come for the governor and legislative leaders to show some true bipartisan leadership and act swiftly to jointly “reel in” the NCWRC and right a wrong…before things get totally out hand. 

N.C. fisheries ‘boundaries’  stir up murky water

Realizing that “navigating fisheries management in North Carolina can be tricky business,” the North Carolina Marine & Estuary Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has offered its assistance in sorting things out.

 

Its guidelines may be helpful in determining the appropriate jurisdiction of state agencies related to water-based activities in North Carolina.

(The foundation was established in 2017 by business leaders dedicated to supporting eastern North Carolina.)

Basically, the Marine & Estuary Foundation says North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) manages freshwater fisheries and activities that take place in and on North Carolina’s inland lakes, rivers and streams. (Green area on map.)

Saltwater fisheries and activities fall under the jurisdiction of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (NCMFC). (Blue area.)

 

The two units of state government – Wildlife Resources and Marine Fisheries – share responsibility for “joint fishing waters,” which are essentially those areas in the state where the “river meets the sea.” (Yellow area.)

In these joint fishing waters, the two agencies are expected to get along and “work things out” to arrive at decisions that are mutually agreeable, acceptable and fair to all concerned. That’s the way it’s supposed to work.

But when Wildlife Resources came out in favor of imposing statewide restrictions on shrimp trawling in June, it crossed over into Marine Fisheries’ territory, or so it seems. Some observers accused the Wildlife Resources crowd of overstepping its boundaries and bullying.

In reality, Wildlife Resources and the Marine Fisheries are not “equal entities” within the state government structure. The Wildlife Resource Commission reports to the General Assembly as a whole. And as such, it operates with a whole lot of autonomy.

In contrast, the Marine Fisheries Commission is a quasi-governmental agency. Its nine members are appointed by the Governor, but it has no staff.

Support services to the commission are provided by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, a unit within the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) that reports to the Governor.

The Secretary of Environmental Quality is appointed by the Governor. D. Reid Wilson presently serves as NCDEQ Secretary (shown below).

Kathy Rawls, the director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, reports to the Secretary.

 

In short, Rawls, as the head of the Division of Marine Fisheries, and Sammy Corbett (shown below), a commercial fisherman in Hampstead (Pender County), who is chair of the Marine Fisheries Commission, have to go through “proper channels” before issuing public statements.

So, in essence, the playing field between Wildlife Resources and Marine Fisheries is not level.

Maybe it’s time to level that playing field in Raleigh and take the wind out of the sails of Wildlife Resources, which appears to be prone to sticking its nose into somebody else’s business affairs.

Political observers shake their heads and say: “Easier said than done.” The General Assembly is controlled by Republicans. 

Gov. Josh Stein is a Democrat, and he’s stacked the deck so the departments under his jurisdiction are led by “his people.” That’s just the way it works.

(The shrimp in the sea don’t much care for political labels…they’re “unaffiliated.”)

What’s doubly interesting…as well as doubly troubling…is that this whole “Shrimpgate” feud in Raleigh originated among Republicans in the state Senate squabbling with one another.

The coastal delegation represents a slew of counties, but these are mostly rural in nature and sparsely populated. As such, the coastal region is disadvantaged, because “we’re severely outnumbered” in the legislature.

Only four senators stood tall and voted against the shrimp trawling ban. Hooray for them – Bob Brinson, Bobby Hanig, Michael Lazzara and Norman Sanderson.

One coastal senator who “voted the other way” was Bill Rabon, who represents North Carolina’s “southern coastline” – Brunswick and New Hanover counties.

 

What was he thinking? The plot thickens.