North Carolina Chamber Joins State Initiative to Improve Coastal Fishing Economies

The NC Chamber and NC Sound Economy coalition support House Bill 867
to maximize job potential and benefits of coastal economic resources

RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Chamber, a nonpartisan business advocacy organization, has joined the NC Sound Economy initiative to strengthen coastal livelihoods, raise incomes and make coastal communities more resilient. The effort will support solutions that maximize economic benefits in many of our state’s non-urban coastal communities.

Along with NC Sound Economy, the North Carolina Chamber supports the solutions contained in House Bill 867, the Coastal Fisheries Conservation and Economic Development Act. The legislation aims to update fisheries management laws, streamline regulatory decision making, and grow the entire state’s fishing economy.

“Improving our coastal fishing economies will have positive impacts across our whole state,” said Lew Ebert, president and CEO of the North Carolina Chamber. “As the state’s largest business advocacy organization, our priority is to proactively drive positive change to ensure that North Carolina is a leading place in the world to do business. House Bill 867 and the research presented by NC Sound Economy clearly demonstrate the opportunity that our state has, today, to improve our coastal fishing economies for future generations.”

This year, NC Sound Economy commissioned a study to examine various fisheries management strategies for North Carolina. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), in collaboration with an economist from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), finds that if House Bill 867 is passed, our state’s fishing economy stands to gain:

• an additional $829.7 million dollars,
• $4.2 billion in total sales,
• 1,493 additional jobs, and
• $1.6 billion in labor income.

In addition to benefits to the recreational fishing economy, the struggling commercial sector can be a premier local and sustainable seafood producer for future generations.

About NC Sound Economy: NC Sound Economy is a nonprofit organization made up of an expanding coalition of fishermen, business leaders and concerned citizens who seek to end the unproductive fights over a shrinking publicly owned economic resource. For more information visit www.ncsoundeconomy.com.

About the North Carolina Chamber: The North Carolina Chamber is a nonpartisan business advocacy organization that works in the legislative, regulatory and political arenas to proactively drive positive change to ensure that North Carolina is a leading place in the world to do business.  Strengthening the state’s ability to attract, retain and grow jobs is the Chamber’s highest priority.  Central to that effort are four “Pillars of a Secure Future” for North Carolina which include Education and Talent Supply, Business Climate, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Infrastructure and Growth Leadership.  For more information, visit www.ncchamber.net.