Update on Coastal Fisheries Trial: Week 1 Recap

January 20 – 23, 2026

On January 20, 2026, the multi-week trial began in CCA NC’s lawsuit to hold the State accountable for failing to protect and preserve North Carolina’s once-abundant coastal fisheries.

After a compelling 90-minute opening statement presented on behalf of CCA NC and the other 89 citizen plaintiffs, the Plaintiffs presented key testimony from a number of witnesses:

Dr. Tim Nifong, CCA NC’s General Counsel, gave comprehensive testimony on the last several decades of fisheries management in North Carolina, including the history leading up to the Fisheries Reform Act, the State’s failures in implementing the Act, and the commercial fishing industry’s influences on how those failures came to occur.

Doug Mumford, who spent his entire 40-year career with the Division of Marine Fisheries collecting and examining data, revealed the State’s own data confirming the dramatic, precipitous decline in the health of our coastal fisheries, confirmed commercial-industry bias within the Division, and debunked the State’s claim that all fish are equal in the eyes of public anglers.

Gary Hardison, a lifelong Pamlico County resident and avid fisherman, gave his personal account of witnessing how recreational fishing used to drive the local economy decades ago and how that was lost when our fisheries declined, as well as his personal observations of the destruction caused by gillnets and shrimp trawlers working the Pamlico Sound.

Joe Albea, a lifelong fisherman and the producer of PBS’s beloved Carolina Outdoor Journal, testified to his personal observations on the decline of our coastal fisheries from his decades on the water—and needing to be able to find fish to make a living as the producer of shows about finding fish—confirming what the uncontroverted data shows to be true.

Seth Vernon and Richard Andrews, prominent fishing guides from different parts of our coast, testified to their unique perspectives in witnessing the decline of our coastal fisheries, as well as how the decline has threatened their livelihood.

Alan Jernigan, a commercial fisherman and former gillnet fisherman, gave revealing, eyewitness testimony about commercial pressure on our fisheries and the destruction caused by commercial gears, further corroborating the testimony of other public anglers.

Fred Harris, the former Deputy Director of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC), testified about the stark differences in the WRC’s “resourcefirst” approach to fisheries management and the Marine Fisheries Commission’s (MFC) “industry-first” approach, contrasting the WRC’s successes with the MFC’s failures.

After a closure for inclement weather on Monday, January 26 and a courthouse closure on Tuesday, January 27, the trial will resume on Wednesday, January 28.