Funds under this grant award will be used to provide independent relative abundance indices, biological data, and catch composition data for important recreational finfish species in coastal north…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of the Interior, awarded a Sport Fish Restoration (CFDA 15.605) Formula Grant of $2,405,396 to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030. Under this award, the recipient will provide independent relative abundance indices, biological data, and catch composition data for key recreational finfish species in coastal North Carolina. These products will support stock assessments and management evaluations for 12 species including Atlantic croaker, spot, spotted seatrout, red drum, weakfish, southern flounder, summer flounder, black drum, striped mullet, Atlantic menhaden, striped bass, and bluefish.

The deliverables from this project will serve as critical resources for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality–Division of Marine Fisheries and other Atlantic Coast fishery management agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of current management strategies, assess stock status, and determine the appropriateness of conservation measures for marine and estuarine resources. The award supports development of a long-term database of biological data and indices of relative abundance for recreational species, enabling more comprehensive and evidence-based fishery management decision-making throughout North Carolina's coastal regions.

Funds under this grant award will be used to provide independent relative abundance indices, biological data, and catch composition data for important recreational finfish species in coastal north carolina. Data from this project will be used by the north carolina department of environmental quality- division of marine fisheries (ncdeq-DMF) and other atlantic coast fishery management agencies to conduct stock assessments, evaluate the effectiveness of current management strategies, and identify whether current measures are appropriate for conserving marine and estuarine stocks. A long-term database of biological data and the development of indices of relative abundance for key recreational species will allow more thorough assessment of the status of stocks including atlantic croaker, spot, spotted seatrout, red drum, weakfish, southern flounder, summer flounder, black drum, striped mullet, atlantic menhaden, striped bass, and bluefish.