AN ACT to require fishery management plans to achieve sustainable harvest rather than optimal yield and to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding a fishery.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 113‑129(12a) and G.S. 113‑129(12b) are repealed.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 113‑129 is amended by adding three new subdivisions to read:
"(12c)	Overfished. – The condition of a fishery that occurs when the spawning stock biomass of the fishery is below the level that is adequate for the recruitment class of a fishery to replace the spawning class of the fishery.
(12d)	Overfishing. – Fishing that causes a level of mortality that prevents a fishery from producing a sustainable harvest.
. . .
(14a)	Sustainable harvest. – The amount of fish that can be taken from a fishery on a continuing basis without reducing the stock biomass of the fishery or causing the fishery to become overfished."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 113‑182.1(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The goal of the plans shall be to ensure the long‑term viability of the State's commercially and recreationally significant species or fisheries. Each plan shall be designed to reflect fishing practices so that one plan may apply to a specific fishery, while other plans may be based on gear or geographic areas. Each plan shall:
(1)	Contain necessary information pertaining to the fishery or fisheries, including management goals and objectives, status of relevant fish stocks, stock assessments for multiyear species, fishery habitat and water quality considerations consistent with Coastal Habitat Protection Plans adopted pursuant to G.S. 143B‑279.8, social and economic impact of the fishery to the State, and user conflicts.
(2)	Recommend management actions pertaining to the fishery or fisheries.
(3)	Include conservation and management measures that will provide the greatest overall benefit to the State, particularly with respect to food production, recreational opportunities, and the protection of marine ecosystems, and that will produce a sustainable harvest.
(4)	Specify a time period, not to exceed 10 years from the date of the adoption of the plan, for ending overfishing and achieving a sustainable harvest. This subdivision shall only apply to a plan for a fishery that is overfished. This subdivision shall not apply to a plan for a fishery where the biology of the fish or environmental conditions make ending overfishing and achieving a sustainable harvest within 10 years impracticable."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 113‑182.1(g) reads as rewritten:
"(g)	To achieve sustainable harvest under a Fishery Management Plan, the Marine Fisheries Commission may include in the Plan a recommendation that the General Assembly limit the number of fishermen authorized to participate in the fishery. The Commission may recommend that the General Assembly limit participation in a fishery only if the Commission determines that sustainable harvest cannot otherwise be achieved. In determining whether to recommend that the General Assembly limit participation in a fishery, the Commission shall consider all of the following factors:
(1)	Current participation in and dependence on the fishery.
(2)	Past fishing practices in the fishery.
(3)	Economics of the fishery.
(4)	Capability of fishing vessels used in the fishery to engage in other fisheries.
(5)	Cultural and social factors relevant to the fishery and any affected fishing communities.
(6)	Capacity of the fishery to support biological parameters.
(7)	Equitable resolution of competing social and economic interests.
(8)	Any other relevant considerations."
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 17th day of July, 2004.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 4:46 p.m. this 2nd day of August, 2004