July 2018
Stories in this newsletter
From the Director's Desk
Overfished vs. Overfishing
Defining Annual Crops
Research Crucial to Sustainable Fisheries
Meet the Stock Assessment Staff
Issue focuses on science, terminology
and the importance of research
Its July and time for our annual update on the fish, shellfish and crustaceans managed by the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Division of Marine Fisheries. The 2018 Stock Overview serves to summarize the scientific information used to determine the overall condition of North Carolina’s fishery resources.

Defining overfished and overfishing
They are different forms of the same verb, but in the world of fisheries science and in state law, they have very different meanings.

Annual crops: Why there may never be
a stock assessment for some species
Likely, there will never be a North Carolina stock assessment for bay scallop or shrimp. They are the two species the Division of Marine Fisheries currently manages that are considered annual crops.

Ongoing research important factor 
in ensuring sustainable fisheries
Research and monitoring are core to the Division of Marine Fisheries, meeting its mission of ensuring sustainable marine and estuarine fisheries, and habitats for the benefit and health of the people of North Carolina.

Meet the stock assessment scientists 
The Division of Marine Fisheries’ Stock Assessment Program staff work hard to compile and evaluate data and apply state-of-the-art modeling techniques to assess the state’s important commercial and recreational fisheries species.