Tag Archives: for shrimp trawlers

Federal Appeals Court upholds ruling for shrimp trawlers in Clean Water Act dispute

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court decision favoring shrimp trawlers in a dispute tied to the Clean Water Act. A three-judge appellate panel agreed unanimously with the dismissal of legal complaints against the trawlers. “Fisheries Reform Group alleges that shrimp trawlers operating in North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound are violating the Clean Water Act by engaging in two types of unpermitted activity: throwing bycatch overboard and disturbing sediment with their trawl nets. But these activities do not violate the Clean Water Act,” wrote Appeals Court Judge Julius Richardson.  The seven named defendants in the case are commercial shrimpers in Pamlico Sound. They harvest shrimp by dragging trawl nets along the ocean’s floor. >click to read< 07:58