TL;DR: Inshore commercial shrimp trawling is devastating our marine fisheries by causing by-catch (untargeted marine animals trapped and killed in the nets) at a rate of 4 to 1 by weight.
North Carolina is the only state that still allows inshore shrimp trawling.
Here’s what the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has to say on the topic. It bugs me that they’re framing it as the loss of recreational flounder fishing being the primary consequence, but I suppose whatever brings more attention to the issue is a good thing.
The NC Wildlife Commission is holding a meeting Tonight at 7:00pm at the New Bern Community College
- It’s worth noting that the linked article is to WCTI which is a Sinclair station.
To be clear, the meeting tonight is regarding a temporary rule that closes the 2024 recreational flounder season, not a rule that would ban inshore trawling. An inshore trawling ban would have to go through the Legislature and be supported by Republicans, which is highly unlikely.
edit:
For commercial fishermen like Thomas Smith, who works in the Pamlico Sound, shrimp trawling is essential for their livelihood. “Most of our income comes between July and November while working on inshore waters,” says Smith. He said that keeping shrimp trawling operations only in the ocean would only be viable for about two months each year, potentially devastating his business. “It would put me out of business,” he adds.
GOOD.