June 22, 2016 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — A new report says North Carolina’s commercial fishermen caught and sold an increasing number of fish for the second year in the row.
According to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, 66 million pounds of finfish and shellfish were sold to seafood dealers in 2015, which was 6.8% more than in 2014. The five-year average is 60.5 million pounds. Revenues also increased, with the value of the fish at $104 million, which also tops the five-year average.
The agency credits the mild weather for allowing the fishermen to work late in the year into the early winter of 2015.