§ 113-170.3. Record-keeping requirements. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 113‑170.3.  Record‑keeping requirements.

(a)        The Commission may require all licensees under this Articleto keep and to exhibit upon the request of an authorized agent of theDepartment records and accounts as may be necessary to the equitable and efficientadministration and enforcement of this Article. In addition, licensees may berequired to keep additional information of a statistical nature or relating tolocation of catch as may be needed to determine conservation policy. Recordsand accounts required to be kept must be preserved for inspection for not lessthan three years.

(b)        It is unlawful for any licensee to refuse or to neglectwithout justifiable excuse to keep records and accounts as may be reasonablyrequired. The Department may distribute forms to licensees to aid in securingcompliance with its requirements, or it may inform licensees of requirements inother effective ways such as distributing memoranda and sending agents of theDepartment to consult with licensees who have been remiss. Detailed forms ordescriptions of records, accounts, collection and inspection procedures, andthe like that reasonably implement the objectives of this Article need not beembodied in rules of the Commission in order to be validly required.

(c)        The following records collected and compiled by theDepartment shall not be considered public records within the meaning of Chapter132 of the General Statutes, but shall be confidential and shall be used onlyfor the equitable and efficient administration and enforcement of this Articleor for determining conservation policy, and shall not be disclosed except whenrequired by the order of a court of competent jurisdiction: all records,accounts, and reports that licensees are required by the Commission to make,keep, and exhibit pursuant to the provisions of this section, and all records,accounts, and memoranda compiled by the Department from records, accounts, andreports of licensees and from investigations and inspections, containing dataand information concerning the business and operations of licensees reflectingtheir assets, liabilities, inventories, revenues, and profits; the number,capacity, capability, and type of fishing vessels owned and operated; the typeand quantity of fishing gear used; the catch of fish or other seafood byspecies in numbers, size, weight, quality, and value; the areas in whichfishing was engaged in; the location of catch; the time of fishing, number ofhauls, and the disposition of the fish and other seafood. The Department may compilestatistical information in any aggregate or summary form that does not directlyor indirectly disclose the identity of any licensee who is a source of theinformation, and any compilation of statistical information by the Departmentshall be a public record open to inspection and examination by any person, andmay be disseminated to the public by the Department. (1997‑400, s. 5.1; 2001‑213, s. 2.)