MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — September 11, 2013 — State, county and local government representatives, as well as other coastal residents, spoke out again Tuesday against the proposed critical habitat designation for loggerhead sea turtles.
The National Marine Fisheries Service held a public hearing Tuesday to take comments on its proposal to declare areas of the North Carolina coast as critical habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. The designation would require additional scrutiny of any federal activity, federally funded activity or federally permitted activity going on in these areas. The action could impact activities including dredging and federally permitted commercial fishing.
The habitat designation is part of a joint proposal from both the NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fish and Wildlife has made its own critical habitat proposal that covers land on the Atlantic coast, including areas of coastline in North Carolina and Carteret County.
Public comments on this joint proposal will be accepted until Monday. Written comments can be made online by visiting www.regulations.gov, entering the docket ID number “NOAA-NMFS-2013-0079-0002” in the search bar, and clicking the “comment now” button on the search results.
During the hearing, 23 of the roughly 80 attendees spoke, all in opposition to the proposed designation. Opponents said scientific data doesn’t support the proposed requirements, sea turtle protection and restoration efforts are already ongoing in North Carolina, and critical habitat designation would impact the coastal economy.