Amends GS 106-758 to expand the definition of aquaculture so that it also includes the propagation and rearing of aquatic species in marine hatcheries and other deepwater fish farming operations in the state's coastal and ocean waters. Makes technical changes.

Amends GS 106-761 as follows. Requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) to regulate the production and sale of saltwater fish and crustacean species in addition to freshwater fish and crustacean species. Makes conforming changes. Provides that DACS and Board of Agriculture authority is limited to commercially reared fish and does not include authority over the wild fishery resources managed under the authority of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission or the Marine Fisheries Commission (was, authority of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission). Requires the Board of Agriculture (Board) to, by rule, designate the species of fish, crustaceans, and shellfish that may be produced and sold under a Marine Aquaculture Propagation and Production Facility License. Sets out factors that the Board must consider in making the designations. Allows the Board to, by rule, authorize and license the operation of fish hatcheries and production facilities for the species of fish designated as described above. Requires the Board to (1) consult with the Marine Fisheries Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding appropriate measures to protect wild stocks from disease or genetic contamination and (2) enter into memoranda of agreement with the US Army Corps of Engineers and any other appropriate state or federal regulatory agencies regarding appropriate standards and markings for marine aquaculture structures to avoid impairment of navigation. Specifies that marine aquaculture facilities that require the use of public bottom lands underlying waters of the state or the superjacent water column will also require a lease from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources pursuant to Article 16A of GS Chapter 113. Allows the Board to prescribe standards of operation, qualifications of operators, and the conditions under which fish may be commercially reared, transported, possessed, bought, and sold. Provides that Marine Aquaculture Propagation and Production Licenses issued by DACS are valid for five years. Requires a person to have a Marine Aquaculture Propagation and Production Facility License and associated lease under Article 16A of GS Chapter 113 before taking or attempting to take marine species being produced under the license and associated lease from any privately leased, franchised, or deeded marine aquaculture operation without written authorization of the holder and with actual knowledge it is a marine aquaculture leased area. Specifies circumstances under which actual knowledge is presumed. Violations are a Class A1 misdemeanor, which may include a fine of no more than $5,000. Specified what is to be included in the written authorization from the holder. 

Enacts new Article 16A, Leasing of Bottom Land and Waters of the State for Marine Aquaculture, in GS Chapter 113. States General Assembly findings and declares that it is the policy of the state to encourage the development of private, commercial marine aquaculture in ways that are compatible with other public uses of marine and estuarine resources.

New GS 113-216 allows the Secretary of Environmental Quality (Secretary) to grant marine aquaculture leases for the public bottom to state residents who have obtained a Marine Aquaculture Propagation and Production Facility License when the Secretary determines that the public interest will benefit from issuance of the lease. Sets out five minimum standards that must be met for an area to be suitable for marine aquaculture, including that the leased area not contain a natural shellfish bed and that the operation of a marine aquaculture operation in the leased area will not impinge upon the rights of riparian owners. Allows the Secretary to delete any part of an area proposed for a lease or condition a lease to protect the public interest; also prohibits the Secretary from granting a new lease in an area heavily used for recreational purposes. Sets out requirements to be met when applying for a lease, including that the application include a map or diagram, that must meet specified conditions, of the area proposed to be leased. Applicants must also pay a $200 filing fee. Sets out requirements to be met by the area of bottom applied for. Requires the Secretary to conduct a public hearing when the Secretary intends to approve an application; sets out notification requirements. After consideration of the public comment received and any additional investigations the Secretary orders to evaluate the comments, the Secretary is required to notify the applicant in person or by certified or registered mail of the decision on the lease application; the Secretary must also notify persons who submitted comments at the public hearing and requested notice of the decision. Allows an applicant who is dissatisfied with the Secretary's decision or another person aggrieved by the decision to commence a contested case by filing a petition under GS 150B‑23 within 20 days after receiving notice of the Secretary's decision. Specifies that initial leases begin upon the issuance of the lease by the Secretary and expire at noon on the first day of July following the 10th anniversary of the granting of the lease and renewal leases are issued for 10 years from the time of expiration of the previous lease. Applicants for a renewal of a lease must pay a $100 filing fee. Sets the price of the rental for initial leases at $10 per acre, per year. Rental must be paid annually in advance prior to the first day of April each year. Provides that leaseholds granted under this statute are to be treated as if they were real property and are subject to all laws relating to taxation, sale, devise, inheritance, gift, seizure and sale under execution or other legal process, and the like. Leases properly acknowledged and probated are eligible for recordation in the same manner as instruments conveying an estate in real property. Provides the procedure for when ownership is transferred, with the lease terminated when it is transferred to a nonresident. Specifies seven occurrences upon which the Secretary must commence action to terminate the leasehold. Allows the Secretary to discontinue termination procedures when the leaseholder takes steps within 30 days to remedy the situation. Allows the leaseholder to initiate a contested case when the termination is not discontinued. Sets out additional requirements to be met when terminating a lease. Requires the Secretary to mail to all leaseholders a notice of the annual rental due and include forms for determining the amount of harvest gathered and gathering other pertinent information related to the utilization of the leasehold in the best interests of the aquaculture industry of the state. The form must be completed and returned by the leaseholder with the payment of the leaseholder's rental; it is a Class 1 misdemeanor for any leaseholder or the leaseholder's agent executing such forms to knowingly make a false statement.

New GS 113-217 allows the Secretary to include in marine aquaculture leases issued under G.S. 113‑216 provisions to allow the use of the water column superjacent to the leased bottom when the Secretary determines the public interest will benefit from inclusion of water column provisions. Sets out six standards that must be met by areas where water column use is allowed, including that aquaculture use of the leased area does not significantly impair navigation, and that the leased area is not within an area traditionally used and available for fishing or hunting activities incompatible with the activities proposed by the leaseholder. 

Amends GS 113-134.1 to provide that while the Marine Fisheries Commission is directed to exercise all regulatory authority over the conservation of marine fisheries resources in the Atlantic Ocean to the seaward extent of the State jurisdiction over the resources as defined, DACS must exercise concurrent authority to the extent necessary to effectuate the purposes of Article 63 of GS Chapter 106. Provides that if there is a conflict between actions taken or regulations promulgated by either agency, the Marine Fisheries Commission and DACS are allowed to make agreements concerning the settlement of such conflict in the best interests of promoting marine aquacultural resources, when not inconsistent with the conservation of the marine and estuarine resources of the state.

The above provisions are effective October 1, 2016.

Appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to DACS to implement the Marine Aquaculture Propagation and Production Facility licensing program.

Requires DACS and the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environmental Quality to jointly: (1) request that the Mid‑Atlantic and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils develop a Fishery Management Plan for regulating offshore aquaculture in federal waters offshore from the North Carolina coast and (2) petition the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to initiate rule‑making proceedings to implement a comprehensive regulatory program for managing the development of an environmentally sound and economically sustainable aquaculture fishery in federal waters offshore from the North Carolina coast. Requires an interim report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources no later than January 15, 2017, and a final report on or before June 1, 2017, that includes the request and petition.

Requires the Division of Marine Fisheries to review its Fishery Management Plan for river herring and report by December 15, 2016, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources regarding the continuing validity and scientific basis for the continued status of both species as "overfished." Provides that if the Division does not have an adequate scientific basis to review the status of both species, then the report should include cost estimates for the restoration of spawning and nursery area surveys and age composition work for all coastal streams within the state that historically contained significant river herring fisheries.