Morehead City's First Painted Marlin Is at City Hall. Here's How the Rest Will Get Here.

At the July 11, 2023 meeting of the Morehead City Council, Councilman George Ballou read a letter into the record. A nine-year-old resident named Morgan Norris wrote it. She had seen decorated bears on a trip to New Bern, and she thought her own town should have something similar.

On Oct. 1, 2026, Norris stood on the City Hall lawn and read that letter again, three years later. The Carteret County News-Times recorded what she said:

"I've been thinking of the best idea. On my last visit to New Bern, I noticed decorated bears all around sharing their town spirit. We should show our town spirit by decorating marlins all around our town. I chose marlins because we have a Marlins baseball team."

Behind her stood the program's first seven-foot blue marlin. Getting one statue up took three years. The next marlins won't spread the way the bears did in New Bern, because the program's rules decide where they can go. They'll stand on the properties of the businesses and organizations that buy them. Every new marlin you spot will be a decision a local business made and paid for.

From a Letter to a Lawn, One Delay at a Time

The idea moved slowly, and the dates show it. In November 2025, then-City Manager Chris Turner told council that the 3D rendering had been approved and that a first order of 25 statues would follow, with delivery expected in February 2026. According to the minutes, one statue would belong to the city and stand at City Hall, and 23 would be offered for sale. The minutes don't say what happens to the 25th.

The artist call first closed on Nov. 21, 2025, and was pushed to Dec. 12. The statue that was due in February went up in October. None of that is unusual for a public art program built from scratch. It does mean the first marlin needed most of a year longer than planned, and that matters when you wonder how soon the rest will show up.

At the unveiling, Mayor Lee Stiles credited former Mayor Jerry Jones and Turner with getting the program off the ground. He also thanked Sarah Currie of the city's finance staff. In the 2025 minutes, Turner had already praised Currie, the city's Assistant Finance Director/Procurement, for "guiding, developing and seeing this project through to success."

Why a Marlin Fits This Particular Year

Norris picked the marlin because of a baseball team. The adults who spoke at the ceremony pointed to the water. City Manager Randy Martin called the 2026 Big Rock "historic in proportion," the News-Times reported.

The numbers back him up. In June 2026, Connor Daniel brought in a 919.9-pound blue marlin aboard Marlin Fever, a 63-foot Jarrett Bay captained by Cameron Guthrie. The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament says it is the largest fish ever weighed in the tournament's history. The old record was Top Dog's 914-pound marlin from 2019. The 2026 tournament drew 278 boats over six fishing days, and its purse of $9,038,225 was also a record. Marlin Fever took home $6,513,188.

Martin brought up the baseball connection too. The Marlins play at Big Rock Stadium, and he said they won their division this year and finished runner-up in the conference. So both of the town's marlin stories had a big year in 2026, and the statue went up a few months after both.

"The blue marlin itself is more than just a fish to us, it has become part of the identity of Morehead City," Stiles said at the ceremony, as quoted by the News-Times. "It represents our connection to the water, our history, our tourism, and so much of what makes our community unique."

The Rules Decide Where the Marlins Can Land

The program has a lot in common with other decorated-statue projects. One difference matters most for where marlins will appear. The city's program FAQ and the artist call lay out the rules:

• The statue: a seven-foot fiberglass blue marlin, supplied by the city.
• The price: $2,500 per statue, which includes a printed 4-by-8-inch plaque. The artwork, clear coat and installation cost extra, and the buyer and artist agree on the artist's fee between themselves.
• Who can buy one: businesses and organizations in Morehead City's planning area, which covers the city limits and the extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. The FAQ doesn't list families or individual residents as eligible buyers.
• The artist: buyers can pick from the city's artist pool or choose someone else, as long as that artist follows the program guidelines.
• The design: it has to be original and family-friendly. The city recommends themes of community spirit or local heritage. Lettering and words aren't allowed under the city's sign rules.
• The location: each marlin goes on the buying business's or organization's own property. Moving it later requires the city's coordination and approval.

These rules shape the marlin map. The city won't be picking corners for statues. The 23 statues for sale will go wherever businesses and organizations decide to put about $2,500 plus an artist's fee. A marlin could stand outside a shop on Arendell Street, a marina office or a nonprofit's front lawn out in the ETJ. Every one will be a choice made by whoever owns that lot.

The no-lettering rule also keeps the statues from turning into signs. Each one gets its design and color from the artist, and the only printed piece included in the price is the 4-by-8 plaque. Each marlin will look like art first and a sponsorship second.

To join, a business or organization applies. If it's selected, it works with its artist on a design, then buys the statue and gets the city's approval on the design. Installation and promotion come last, according to the News-Times. The city's November 2025 notice said the first 23 would be chosen by lottery.

Going to See the First One

The city's marlin stands on the southeastern corner of the City Hall property at 1100 Bridges St., where Bridges meets North 11th Street. You can see it from the sidewalk on the front lawn.

Local artist Chrissy Suralik painted it. She told the News-Times she spent 25 to 30 hours on it. "Public art is always a little nerve wracking because you've got a lot of eyes on it, but this is really exciting," she said. WCTI12 also covered the unveiling, and called Norris a local middle-schooler.

If you're planning a Saturday stop, the Morehead City Curb Market at 1213 Evans St. runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through November, per the city's October 2026 newsletter. That leaves a few weekends to see the marlin and visit the market on the same morning before the market closes for the season.

When the Next 23 Arrive Has No Date Yet

So far the city hasn't announced an application deadline, a lottery date or any business that has signed on. Council agendas from August, September and October 2026 don't mention the program. The city's Oct. 1 announcement sends interested buyers to the Adopt-A-Marlin program page for details.

There are hints of demand. Back in November 2025, Turner told council that "several area businesses have already expressed keen interest" in the first statues. If the first marlin is any guide, though, each new statue will take months to go from application to installation, because each one goes through artist selection, a design approval and an installation.

Stiles described where he hopes this goes. "Over time, imagine these marlins throughout Morehead City," he said, according to the News-Times. "Each one different, each one telling a different story, but all of them representing one community." For now, there's one marlin, on the City Hall lawn at Bridges and North 11th.

At Copeland & Bernauer Real Estate Team, we'll be keeping track as new marlins go up on the business lots around Morehead City. If you'd like to know which ones are near your street, or what your own place is worth while the marlin map grows, ask for an instant home valuation and we'll send it along with the latest sightings.