By Connie Leinbach and Sam Walker
Leaders from 15 coastal counties in North Carolina met for the first time in Morehead City in August as part of the newly formed Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition.
Formed on the heels of the defeat in late June of House Bill 442, which would have banned inshore shrimp trawling, the group was created to allow North Carolina’s coastal region to address critical issues related to commercial fishing with a unified voice.
Daniel Brinn, Hyde County’s water and flood control coordinator, is representing Hyde County, said Randal Mathews, Hyde County Board of Commissioners chair, who also attended the meeting.
“We’re unifying the commercial advocacy groups,” he said, “and this coalition is going to be the political voice at the legislature for advocating commercial fishing. We need to make it so they’re not pitting recreational fishermen against commercial fishermen, because that’s what they’re doing.”
The recreational fishing industry claims they are worth a lot more than the commercial fishing industry, he said.
“They’re just totally negating the fact that look at all the people buying the seafood, and the wholesale and the retail market,” Mathews said.
Mathews said Hyde County will stay on top of this issue because commercial fishing is about 20% of the county’s economy.
The meeting drew a strong turnout, with over 100 attendees, including state senators, house members and legislative staff—a clear indication of the broad interest in coastal fisheries issues in North Carolina.
Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard will serve as chairman, with Dare County providing administrative and legal support. The coalition will operate as a public body, with participating counties appointing an official representative. All meetings will be open to the public, with advance notice provided to ensure transparency.
“This coalition is more than just a partnership—it’s a united front dedicated to preserving their livelihoods, honoring their heritage and ensuring that this way of life endures for generations to come,” Woodard said.
Several speakers at the meeting shared powerful accounts of how proposed regulations in House Bill 442—a ban on inshore shrimp trawling, which was defeated—would have devastated their livelihoods and the state’s fishing communities.
There was also an emphasis on the need to educate North Carolinians throughout the state about the value of the commercial fishing industry, the people who sustain it and the conservation measures already in place to protect marine resources.