state began trying to settle the con- 

 troversies. 



Twenty years later, the state is still 

 juggling public and private rights. Too 

 many people, and too many rights are 

 involved. 



Now money is an issue. 



These underwater fields are more 

 valuable because so much of the land 

 can be used for shellfishing. And shell- 

 fish bring fishermen a high price at the 

 market. 



In 1971, fishermen got a penny a 

 clam, Rivenbark says. Now they get 

 about 15 cents. 



As a result of the increased value and 

 use of submerged lands, state resource 

 managers, commissioners and attor- 

 neys are turning to the statutes for 

 guidance. 



State law allows citizens to boat, 

 fish, hunt, swim and carry on com- 

 merce in all navigable waters that are 

 publicly owned, says Allen Jernigan, 

 an attorney with the N.C. Department 

 of Justice. Basically, the public can go 

 anywhere in the water that a boat can 



go- 

 But state law also allows residents to 

 lease or to own submerged lands below 

 these public waters. 



If you own bottomland in North 

 Carolina, you have the same rights as 

 any private property owner. You can 

 grow and harvest shellfish, dig for 

 minerals or leave it bare. All beds 

 should be marked, but signs or stakes 

 cannot obstruct navigation. 



The same rules apply if you lease 

 submerged lands. Renters cannot inter- 

 fere with the public trust rights of peo- 

 ple using the water. Likewise, swim- 

 mers and boaters cannot bother the 

 oyster or clam beds. 



It's like a parking lot, says Walter 

 Clark, Sea Grant's coastal law special- 

 ist. Somebody may own the pave- 

 ment, but anyone can use the air above 

 it. 



But leases for submerged lands in 

 North Carolina are hard to come by 

 these days. The state put a moratorium 

 on leases from 1981 to 1983 to revamp 

 the leasing system and re-evaluate the 

 amount of pubhc bottomland. 



Fishermen also organized to stop the 

 flow of leases. More leases would 

 mean less public bottomland for them 

 to fish. 



Since the ban has been lifted, the 

 N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission has 

 approved only six leases. Nine are 

 pending before the commission. 



Photo by Doug Yoder 



The commission strives for fair judg- 

 ments. As with ownership claims, the 

 courts protect private property rights, 

 but history weighs heavily on the side 

 of the public trust. 



The state has not had the authority to 

 sell submerged lands since the early 

 18th century. But for one reason or 

 another, some land has been sold. The 

 last piece was on Figure Eight Island in 

 1960. 



Now thousands of residents claim to 

 own acres of bottomland. No one 

 knows exactly who owns what. 



Under pressure, the 1965 N.C. Gen- 

 eral Assembly asked people to map 

 and register private claims to sub- 

 merged lands before 1970. Failure to 

 file meant the claim was void. 



By 1970, 3,000 people said they 

 owned more than 10,000 acres of bottom- 

 land. 



But there was a catch. 



Claimants had to prove direct owner- 

 ship from the original deed or title. 



That meant digging through records 

 and tracing the deeds back to a grant 

 from King Charles in 1663, for some. 

 For others, it meant a 1920s grant from 

 the N.C. Board of Education. And 

 some claimed ownership by "adverse 

 possession," saying they used an un- 

 claimed plot for more than 21 years. 



Today, the N.C. Attorney General's 

 office is still examining the claims to 

 see if they are valid. 



Shellfishermen use leased bottomland 

 to raise oysters (above); Walter Clark 

 (below) 



