Chapter 3 North Carolina’s Species
The NCDMF is responsible for the stewardship of the state’s marine and estuarine fisheries resources, and the agency’s jurisdiction encompasses all coastal waters and extends to three miles offshore. The agency actively participates in federal and regional management of migratory species by providing technical guidance, assisting with coastwide or regional fishery management issues, and working cooperatively with other state and federal agencies. 3.12.3 Conservation Concerns Table 3-21 (see Appendix 3) provides a list of marine SGCN based on USFWS and NOAA priorities. Some federally protected species, such as sea turtles, receive significant attention when nesting on our beaches, but most of their lives are spent at sea. The USFWS is responsible for sea turtles when they are on land, including nesting females, their incubating eggs, and emergent hatchlings. The NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources (OPR) establishes cooperative agreements with states regarding listed marine species management and protection and identifies endangered species research needs to collect appropriate information for management decisions. For example, NOAA Fisheries has a cooperative agreement with the NCWRC regarding sea turtle strandings in North Carolina coastal waters. NOAA Fisheries grants at-risk marine mammal species a variety of protection levels under the ESA and the MMPA. Among these are endangered status, threatened status, and depleted status. Under the MMPA, a species is designated as depleted when it falls below its optimum sustainable population. Once a species has been designated as depleted, a conservation plan is developed to guide research and management actions to restore the health of the species. Similar levels of federal and state listings such as MMPA Depleted or the state Significantly Rare (SR) designation indicate conservation concern for marine species. Musick et al. (2000) identified marine, estuarine, and diadromous fish stocks at risk of extinction in North America. While the North Carolina coast is not identified as a “hotspot” for species at risk, our coastal waters fall within the potential range of 17 species listed in the publication— seven of which do not carry any protection status. The IUCN has listed several marine species on its Redlist (IUCN 2025) as Critically Endangered, Endangered, Near Threatened, or Vulnerable for species whose current or historical range includes North Carolina coastal or offshore waters. The list of species includes several sharks, skates, and paddlefish as well as other groups. Some of the species discussed above may also be found in estuarine or inland waters (e.g., Diamondback Terrapin, West Indian Manatee, anadromous fish) or on North Carolina beaches (e.g., sea turtles). Others not directly mentioned may also use marine or estuarine environments (e.g., beach-nesting birds). For those typically marine species that are also associated with coastal estuaries and beaches or that travel into inland waters, we have addressed appropriate conservation needs within those habitat types (see Chapter 4 Habitats).
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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