Looks like no more tuna fishing from Jennette’s Pier. An organization called NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) called a halt to any form of tuna fishing from the pier or shore because the bluefin recreational quota had been reached in federal waters. But Jennette’s Pier and the shoreline of Nags Head aren’t in federal waters, so the NOAA had no jurisdiction, but when does that stop bureaucrats?
NOAA, headquartered in (you guessed it) Washington, DC has 321 federal and 12,000 civilian employees. Their budget is $6.9 billion (billion with a “b”). They are the consummate federal bureaucracy – unelected busy bodies that simply make up the rules as they go along. In a similar situation just 2 years ago, NOAA said such a catch was allowable. But they changed their minds.
Local fishing advocates view this response as an overreach—one that punishes recreational fishermen operating legally and ethically under state rules simply because federal data reflected a regional quota being exceeded. They argue it was also an overstep of the agency who should have handled the case, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, who oversees state waters.
What happened at Nags Head was a rare event and a handful of recreational anglers had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hook up with a bluefin tuna without spending $3,000 for an ocean charter. Leave it to a government bureaucracy to put an end to an otherwise remarkable occasion.
DOGE and Elon Musk, could you please take a closer look at the $6.9 billion National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration?
