1997 North Carolina Fisheries Reform Act

  • Collection DOI:
    Principal Investigator:
    Barbara Garrity-Blake, Susan West

  • The Fisheries Reform Act is the most significant fisheries legislation in NC history. 

    In 1994, the NC General Assembly approved a moratorium on the sale of new commercial fishing licenses and established the 19-member Fisheries Moratorium Steering Committee to oversee study of the state's entire coastal fisheries management process and to recommend changes to improve that process.  The Moratorium Steering Committee included legislators, fisheries managers, scientists, commercial fishermen, and recreational fishermen. The committee commissioned six research studies and reviewed a broad range of issues, including fishing licenses, fishing gears, habitat protection, agency organization, and law enforcement.  The committee issued a draft report in late summer 1996, held 19 public meetings across the state, and adopted a final report in October 1996 that formed the basis for the Fisheries Reform Act.   Governor James B. Hunt signed the Act into law on August 14, 1997.

    The 1997 NC Fisheries Reform Act: An Oral History Perspective was made possible by the North Carolina Sea Grant Community Collaborative Research Grant Program.

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Interviewee Collection Description Interviewer Date of Interview Location of Interview Affiliation
Daniel Whittle 1997 North Carolina Fisheries Reform Act

Dan Whittle was born on October 10, 1962, in Glasgow, Kentucky. He grew up in a small farming town in western Kentucky named Ridgefield. After his parents divorced when he was in third grade, he moved to New England, New Hampshire, where he spent the school year in Manchester and the summers on their farm in Kentucky. Whittle attended Manchester public schools and later decided to go back South for college. He attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

 Mary Williford Carrboro, NC Carolina Coastal Voices
Beverly Perdue 1997 North Carolina Fisheries Reform Act

Beverly Perdue is a prominent figure in North Carolina politics, having served as the state's Governor. She has been actively involved in various legislative initiatives, particularly those related to fisheries and environmental issues. Perdue's political career began with her interest in the Democratic Party and her first experiences with politicians in Raleigh. Throughout her career, she has been involved in numerous coastal-related legislations, including the Fisheries Reform Act, which she describes as 'consensus legislation'.

 Barbara Garrity-Blake, Mary Williford New Bern, NC Carolina Coastal Voices
B.J. Copeland 1997 North Carolina Fisheries Reform Act

B.J. Copeland, born on November 20th, 1936, in a country home near Mannsville, has had a significant impact on the fisheries of North Carolina. He has an extensive educational background and has served in the Zoology Department at North Carolina State University. Copeland was initially appointed to the Marine Fisheries Commission in the 1980s under Governor James G. "Jim" Martin's "Egghead Commissions." Throughout his career, he has been involved in numerous public hearings and has worked to foster communication and interaction between different stakeholders in the fisheries sector.

 Mary Williford Bear Creek, NC Carolina Coastal Voices
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