Tag Archives: shrimp trawlers

State fisheries advisory committees to review issue paper on trawling closures to protect submerged aquatic vegetation

A controversial proposal that could lead to shrimp trawling area closures to protect submerged aquatic vegetation took a step toward future consideration by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission last week. The commission, policy-making arm of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, voted during its quarterly business meeting in New Bern to refer an issue paper pertaining to the concept to its northern, southern and shellfish/crustacean advisory committees to get input from the public. Glenn Skinner, executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association, a Morehead City-based trade and lobbying group for commercial watermen, said he and his members are concerned, in part because the state has already permanently or seasonally closed more than 1.2 million acres of estuarine waters to shrimp trawling. more, >>click to read<< 10:18

Fourth Circuit Limits Reach of Federal Regulation Under the “Major Questions” Doctrine as it Relieves Shrimp Trawlers from Clean Water Act Permitting

The Clean Water Act (“CWA”) regulates the discharge of certain “pollutants” into waters of the United States (“WOTUS”).  Should shrimp trawlers be subject to the regulatory framework under the CWA when they return “bycatch” (unintentionally captured marine life) back into a water of the United States, or when their trawl nets churn up rocks and sand on the ocean floor?  Not in the Fourth Circuit, as the United States Court of Appeals recently held in North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group v. Capt. Gaston LLC. This is perhaps an unsurprising conclusion.  The CWA is, after all, intended to regulate point-source pollution discharges into WOTUS—and, therefore, to regulate pollution and discharges. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) defines point source pollution as “any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ship or factory smokestack.” >click to read< 10:46

The Reason Rock Shrimp Were Almost Never Brought to Market

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That simple saying sums up the story of how a Florida boat builder-turned-fisherman came to introduce the world to rock shrimp. It’s difficult to imagine now, but back in the 1970s, shrimp trawlers hauling catch off the southeastern coast of the U.S. routinely dismissed a particular variety of shrimp as not worth the effort. In 1968, Thompson debuted his state-of-the-art fiberglass shrimp trawler, the R.C. Brent Jr., to little acclaim. Unfortunately, traditional shrimpers at the time weren’t ready to embrace Thompson’s fiberglass technology. With a growing family to support and boat sales on the wane, Thompson set out to prove the superiority of his fiberglass design — by going fishing. >click to read< 09:10

A vanishing coastal icon

You don’t see shrimp trawlers working the sea like you once did. You don’t see them coming in with their photogenic outriggers up. To be clear, trawlers still work the sea but nowhere in numbers like they once did.,, Times were you’d see them out at sea working, nets out, capturing shrimp. Beachgoers would see several trawlers with nets up coming home with a haul. Beachgoers and locals alike knew where to get fresh-caught shrimp and it was no marketing spin. It was the real deal, but those days are slipping away. Regulations, pollution, imports, inaccessible shrimping grounds, mariculture, maintenance costs, aging fleets, and other factors have put the hurt on the shrimping industry.  >click to read< 07:36

Coronavirus: Pacific Seafood reopens closed plant to process shrimp

The $9.6 million plant built by BC Fisheries LLC in 2016 closed earlier this year, leaving 30-some people without jobs and 15 local shrimp trawlers without convenient access to a buyer. But recently the Clackamas-based Pacific Seafood, which is one of the largest seafood companies in North America, took over the lease and reopened the plant to begin processing shrimp, at least for the remainder of the season. Part of the mission of the Oregon Trawl Commission is to increase opportunities to ensure a sustainable and profitable trawl fishing industry,” Nowak said. “It’s in this spirit that we would like to recognize and thank the Port of Brookings, the state Department of Environmental Quality, Pacific Seafood and the State of Oregon for their efforts to ensure that 15 local shrimp trawlers have a buyer and processor here in our community.” >click to read< 07:27

Legal battle brewing over where shrimp trawlers can fish in North Carolina

One conservation group in North Carolina is taking a stand, saying fish like Gray Trout and Croaker can’t survive if commercial shrimp trawlers are allowed to run their nets in the Pamlico Sound. “We’ve seen a decline in the past 40 years in our fin fish populations, most recently the southern flounder, which is probably the most favorite fish we have here in North Carolina,” said Joe Albea, a spokesperson for the NC Coastal Fisheries Reform Group. A representative from the Division of Marine Fisheries tells Nine on Your Side they have received the notice and are reviewing it. video, >click to read< 19:32

White shrimp weighing in at 10-12 count per pound? In late January?

That is exactly how the 2016-17 commercial shrimping season in South Carolina state waters wound up earlier this week, at the end of January. The season typically closes by mid-January but excellent catches of jumbo shrimp by trawlers kept it open later. “I’ve had people tell me they’ve never seen big shrimp like this out there this time of year,” Mel Bell, Director of the Office of Fisheries Management for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said on Thursday. “It’s been an unusual close to the season. It’s normally closed by mid-January, and if it’s a colder winter, maybe earlier. “We’ve never seen that phenomenon of those large shrimp offshore. I’ve talked to fishermen who have been in the industry for decades and they’ve never seen anything like that.” Read the story here 18:07

North Carolina Wildlife Federation angling for tougher NC rules on shrimp trawlers

shrimp-petitionThe state Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a petition from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to adopt regulations for shrimp trawlers operating in coastal sounds that would reduce the size of their nets, limit how long nets could be pulled in the water, permit shrimping only three days per week and eliminate night-time shrimping. The goal of the changes, according to Wildlife Federation officials, is to protect fish nurseries.”We have found doing the research – looking at the science, looking at the data and doing the analysis – that we are losing too many fish to shrimp trawling,” David Knight, a policy consultant for the Wildlife Federation, told the commission. “It’s kind of crazy that it comes up now because we just passed, last year, the shrimp plan,” commission Chairman Sammy Corbett said. One of the proposals would cut the length of the head rope attached to the top of a trawler net from 220 feet to 90 feet, among other restriction. Video, read the rest here 07:57

Two shrimp trawlers still stuck in Jarvis Creek

Both boats are turned on their side, and the shrimping boom on the Lady Essie is blocking the waterway, making it difficult for other boats to get by.  more@wtoc 11:32