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§ 113-129. Definitions relating to resources.

§ 113‑129.  Definitionsrelating to resources.

The following definitions andtheir cognates apply in the description of the various marine and estuarine andwildlife resources:

(1)        Repealed by SessionLaws 1979, c. 830, s. 1.

(1a)      Animals. – Wildanimals, except when the context clearly indicates a contrary interpretation.

(1b)      Big Game. – Bear,wild boar, wild turkey, and white‑tailed deer.

(1c)      Birds. – Wild birds,except when the context clearly indicates a contrary interpretation.

(1d)      Boating and FishingAccess Area. – An area of land providing access to public waters and which isowned, leased, controlled, or managed by the Wildlife Resources Commission.

(1e)      Bushel. – A drymeasure containing 2,150.42 cubic inches.

(1f)       Cervid or Cervidae.– All animals in the Family Cervidae (elk and deer).

(2)        Coastal Fisheries. –Any and every aspect of cultivating, taking, possessing, transporting,processing, selling, utilizing, and disposing of fish taken in coastal fishingwaters, whatever the manner or purpose of taking, except for the regulation ofinland game fish in coastal fishing waters which is vested in the WildlifeResources Commission; and all such dealings with fish, wherever taken or found,by a person primarily concerned with fish taken in coastal fishing waters so asto be placed under the administrative supervision of the Department. Provided,that the Department is given no authority over the taking of fish in inlandfishing waters. Except as provisions in this Subchapter or in regulations ofthe Marine Fisheries Commission authorized under this Subchapter may make suchreference inapplicable, all references in statutes, regulations, contracts, andother legal or official documents to commercial fisheries apply to coastalfisheries.

(3)        Coastal Fishing. – Allfishing in coastal fishing waters. Except as provisions in this Subchapter orin regulations of the Marine Fisheries Commission authorized under thisSubchapter may make such references inapplicable, all references in statutes,regulations, contracts, and other legal or official documents to commercialfishing apply to coastal fishing.

(4)        Coastal FishingWaters. – The Atlantic Ocean; the various coastal sounds; and estuarine watersup to the dividing line between coastal fishing waters and inland fishingwaters agreed upon by the Marine Fisheries Commission and the WildlifeResources Commission. Except as provisions in this Subchapter or changes in theagreement between the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Wildlife ResourcesCommission may make such reference inapplicable, all references in statutes,regulations, contracts, and other legal or official documents to commercialfishing waters apply to coastal fishing waters.

(5)        Crustaceans. – Crustacea,specifically including crabs, lobster, and shrimp.

(5a)      Deer. – White‑taileddeer (Odocoileus virginianus), except when otherwise specified in this Chapter.

(5b)      Farmed Cervid. – Anymember of the Cervidae family, other than white‑tailed deer, elk, muledeer, or black‑tailed deer, that is bought and sold for commercialpurposes.

(6)        Fisheries Resources.– Marine and estuarine resources and such wildlife resources as relate to fish.

(7)        Fish; Fishes. – Allmarine mammals; all shellfish; all crustaceans; and all other fishes.

(7a)      Fur‑bearingAnimals. – Beaver, mink, muskrat, nutria, otter, skunk, and weasel; bobcat,opossum, and raccoon when lawfully taken with traps.

(7b)      Game. – Game animalsand game birds.

(7c)      Game Animals. – Bear,fox, rabbit, squirrel, wild boar, white‑tailed deer, and, except whentrapped in accordance with provisions relating to fur‑bearing animals,bobcat, opossum, and raccoon.

(7d)      Game Birds. – Migratorygame birds and upland game birds.

(8)        Game Fish. – Inlandgame fish and such other game fish in coastal fishing waters as may beregulated by the Department.

(8a)      Game Lands. – Landsowned, leased, controlled, or cooperatively managed by the Wildlife ResourcesCommission for public hunting, trapping, or fishing.

(9)        Inland FishingWaters. – All inland waters except private ponds; and all waters connectingwith or tributary to coastal sounds or the ocean extending inland or upstreamfrom:

a.         The dividing linebetween coastal fishing waters and inland fishing waters agreed upon by theMarine Fisheries Commission and the Wildlife Resources Commission; or

b.         North Carolina'sboundary with another state.

(10)      Inland Game Fish. – Thosespecies of freshwater fish, wherever found, and migratory saltwater fish, whenfound in inland fishing waters, as to which there is an important element ofsport in taking and which are denominated as game fish in the regulations ofthe Wildlife Resources Commission. No species of fish of commercial importancenot classified as a game fish in commercial fishing waters as of January 1,1965, may be classified as an inland game fish in coastal fishing waterswithout the concurrence of the Marine Fisheries Commission.

(10a)    Joint Fishing Waters.– Those coastal fishing waters in which are found a significant number offreshwater fish, as agreed upon by the Marine Fisheries Commission and theWildlife Resources Commission in accordance with G.S. 113‑132(e).

(11)      Marine and EstuarineResources. – All fish, except inland game fish, found in the Atlantic Ocean andin coastal fishing waters; all fisheries based upon such fish; all uncultivatedor undomesticated plant and animal life, other than wildlife resources,inhabiting or dependent upon coastal fishing waters; and the entire ecologysupporting such fish, fisheries, and plant and animal life.

(11a)    Migratory Birds. – Allbirds, whether or not raised in captivity, included in the terms of conventionsbetween the United States and any foreign country for the protection ofmigratory birds and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as defined and listed inPart 10 of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(11b)    Migratory Game Birds.– Those migratory birds for which open seasons are prescribed by the UnitedStates Department of the Interior and belonging to the following families:

a.         Anatidae (wildducks, geese, brant, and swans);

b.         Columbidae (wilddoves and pigeons);

c.         Gruidae (littlebrown cranes);

d.         Rallidae (rails,coots, and gallinules); and

e.         Scolopacidae(woodcock and snipe).

TheWildlife Resources Commission is authorized to modify this definition from timeto time by regulations only as necessary to keep it in conformity withgoverning federal laws and regulations pertaining to migratory game birds.

(11c)    Migratory Waterfowl;Waterfowl. – Those migratory birds for which open seasons are prescribed by theUnited States Department of the Interior and belonging to the Family Anatidae(wild ducks, geese, brant, and swans).

(11d)    Nongame Animals. – Allwild animals except game and fur‑bearing animals.

(11e)    Nongame Birds. – Allwild birds except game birds.

(12)      Nongame Fish. – Allfish found in inland fishing waters other than inland game fish.

(12a)    Repealed by SessionLaws 2004‑160, s. 1, effective August 2, 2004.

(12b)    Repealed by SessionLaws 2004‑160, s. 1, effective August 2, 2004.

(12c)    Overfished. – Thecondition of a fishery that occurs when the spawning stock biomass of thefishery is below the level that is adequate for the recruitment class of afishery to replace the spawning class of the fishery.

(12d)    Overfishing. – Fishingthat causes a level of mortality that prevents a fishery from producing asustainable harvest.

(13)      Private Pond. – Abody of water arising within and lying wholly upon a single tract of privatelyowned land, from which fish cannot escape and into which fish cannot enter frompublic fishing waters at any time, except that all publicly owned ponds andlakes are classified as public fishing waters. In addition, the private ownersof abutting tracts of land on which a pond not exceeding 10 acres is or hasbeen established may by written agreement cooperate to maintain that pond as aprivate pond if it otherwise meets the requirements of this definition. If acopy of the agreement has been filed with the Wildlife Resources Commission andthe pond in fact meets the requirements of this definition, it attains thestatus of private pond either 60 days after the agreement has been filed orupon the Commission's approving it as private, whichever occurs first.

(13a)    Public Fishing Waters;Public Waters. – Coastal fishing waters, inland fishing waters, or both.

(13b)    Public HuntingGrounds. – Privately owned lands open to the public for hunting under the termsof a cooperative agreement between the owner and the Wildlife ResourcesCommission.

(13c)    Raptor. – A migratorybird of prey authorized under federal law and regulations for the taking ofquarry by falconry.

(14)      Shellfish. – Mollusca,specifically including oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

(14a)    Sustainable harvest. –The amount of fish that can be taken from a fishery on a continuing basiswithout reducing the stock biomass of the fishery or causing the fishery tobecome overfished.

(14b)    Upland Game Birds. – Grouse,pheasant, quail, and wild turkey.

(15)      Wild Animals. – Gameanimals; fur‑bearing animals; and all other wild mammals except marinemammals found in coastal fishing waters. In addition, this definition includesmembers of the following groups which are on the federal list of endangered orthreatened species: wild amphibians, wild reptiles except sea turtlesinhabiting and depending upon coastal fishing waters, and wild invertebratesexcept invertebrates declared to be pests under the Structural Pest Control Actof North Carolina of 1955 or the North Carolina Pesticide Law of 1971. Nothingin this definition is intended to abrogate G.S. 113‑132(c), conferjurisdiction upon the Wildlife Resources Commission as to any subjectexclusively regulated by any other agency, or to authorize the WildlifeResources Commission by its regulations to supersede valid provision of law or regulationadministered by any other agency.

(15a)    Wild Birds. – Migratorygame birds; upland game birds; and all undomesticated feathered vertebrates.The Wildlife Resources Commission may by regulation list specific birds orclasses of birds excluded from the definition of wild birds based upon the needfor protection or regulation in the interests of conservation of wildliferesources.

(15b)    Wild Boar. – Free‑rangingmammals of the species Sus scrofa that occur in counties identified in therules of the Wildlife Resources Commission.

(16)      Wildlife. – Wildanimals; wild birds; all fish found in inland fishing waters; and inland gamefish. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions ofwildlife, wildlife resources, wild animals, wild birds, fish, and the like aredeemed to include species normally wild, or indistinguishable from wildspecies, which are raised or kept in captivity. Nothing in this definition isintended to abrogate the exclusive authority given the Department of Agricultureand Consumer Services to regulate the production and sale of pen‑raisedquail for food purposes.

(16a)    Wildlife Refuge. – Anarea of land or waters owned, leased, controlled, or cooperatively managed bythe Wildlife Resources Commission which is closed to the taking of some or allspecies of wildlife.

(17)      Wildlife Resources. –All wild birds; all wild mammals other than marine mammals found in coastalfishing waters; all fish found in inland fishing waters, including migratorysaltwater fish; all inland game fish; all uncultivated or undomesticated plantand animal life inhabiting or depending upon inland fishing waters; waterfowlfood plants wherever found, except that to the extent such plants in coastalfishing waters affect the conservation of marine and estuarine resources theDepartment is given concurrent jurisdiction as to such plants; allundomesticated terrestrial creatures; and the entire ecology supporting suchbirds, mammals, fish, plant and animal life, and creatures.  (1965, c. 957, s. 2; 1973,c. 1262, ss. 18, 28; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; 1979, c. 830, s. 1; 1979, 2nd Sess.,c. 1285; 1987, c. 641, ss. 5, 6; 1991, c. 317, ss. 2, 3; c. 761, ss. 38, 39;1993, c. 515, s. 6; 1997‑142, ss. 2, 3; 1997‑261, s. 80; 1997‑400,s. 3.5; 1999‑339, ss. 1‑3; 2003‑344, ss. 1‑4; 2004‑160,ss. 1, 2; 2009‑89, s. 2.)