RALEIGH -- State environmental officials are conducting a nationwide search for a director for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

For the past 11 months, Braxton Davis has served as the director for the state divisions of Marine Fisheries and Coastal Management. The divisions had their own directors before April when Davis – then director of the Division of Coastal Management – was named to also lead the Division of Marine Fisheries.

“Braxton has been an outstanding leader for our agency and has served admirably as the chief for these two divisions for almost a year,” said Michael Regan, secretary for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. “Braxton and I and our leadership team have discussed the workload of managing two divisions, and we all agree that oversight of both divisions is more than one person can handle in a long-term situation.”

Davis will continue serving as the director for both divisions until a new director for the Division of Marine Fisheries is named. At that time, Davis will resume his previous role as director of the Division of Coastal Management. Davis has led the Division of Coastal Management since September 2011.

The position was posted today on the state’s job posting website and will remain open until 5 p.m. March 22. People interested in applying for the state Division of Marine Fisheries’ position or learning more about it can visit: