Senate Bill 738 Summary

• Grants the Secretary of Marine Fisheries discretionary authority to issue shellfish cultivation leases and modifies eligibility standards, including removing the North Carolina residency requirement for initial lessees while restricting non-transferable Shellfish Aquaculture Enterprise Area leases to NC residents.

• Increases acreage limits for shellfish cultivation leases, raising the limit from 50 acres statewide to 50 acres in Core Sound waters and 300 acres in other coastal fishing waters, while establishing minimum lease sizes of one-half acre and maximum of 10 acres per lease.

• Establishes a Shellfish Cultivation Lease Review Committee under the Marine Fisheries Commission to hear appeals of lease application denials, creating an administrative remedy before contested case proceedings.

• Expands oyster nursery areas by allowing transplanting of seed oysters and clams from aquaculture operations in prohibited, restricted, or conditionally approved waters, and permits Under Dock Oyster Culture in non-polluted areas for restoration purposes.

• Appropriates $100,000 to study oyster restoration's impact on nutrient reduction in Pamlico Sound and directs the Division of Marine Fisheries to inventory and develop a leasing process for state-owned aquaculture sites in Carteret, Hyde, and Dare Counties.