Tag Archives: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
South Carolina’s shrimp harvest to open June 1
Commercial shrimp trawling is set to open in all legal South Carolina waterways on Thursday morning. Harvesting season typically opens in full by mid-to-late May after the opening of eight smaller provisional areas in the outer waters. But officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) said those provisional waters opened at the end of April, which allowed shrimpers to begin harvesting some larger white shrimp further offshore while “still protecting most of the spawning population closer to shore.” >click to read< 14:07
South Carolina: Multiple people, businesses charged for illegal commercial fish harvest and sales
James Wooten of Bluffton, Dawson Loper of Bluffton, and David Festerman of Griffen, GA are each facing multiple charges for illegally harvesting and selling flounder, tripletail, sheepshead, and red drum. 42 fish were seized during the arrest. Restaurants buying the fish were also implicated. Chef Eric Seaglund at Hudson’s Seafood House in Hilton Head “was charged with one count of unlawful purchase of a saltwater fishery product, and one count each of possessing undersized tripletail and undersized flounder.” >click to read< 08:32
08:00 – Commercial Shrimp Season is Now Open in South Carolina!
The bright lights of shrimp trawlers have been visible against the offshore horizon each night this week, which can only mean one thing, shrimp season is about to open in full in South Carolina. Commercial shrimp trawling will open in all legal South Carolina waters at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Georgia officials have not yet set an opening date for trawling season in their state waters. “After a slightly cooler start to spring, things now look pretty normal for this time of year,” >click to read< 07: 50
Coast Guard concluded search for missing man near St. Helena Sound
The Coast Guard concluded the search Thursday evening for a man who went missing after his fishing vessel capsized, Wednesday. The man has been identified as Don Melcoock, 50, who is from the greater Charleston area. “I am thankful of the aggressive search efforts put forth by all of our Coast Guard units and partner agencies who have conducted search and rescue operations over the past three days,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christie Connell, the search and rescue mission coordinator at Sector Charleston. “We found the second missing man who unfortunately did not survive. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased.” >click to read< 20:37
The Coast Guard has launched ‘Operation Bubba Gump’. No, seriously!
Besides an awesome name and a tribute to one of the finest fictional soldiers to ever serve, Operation Bubba Gump is a joint state and federal effort to protect and enforce fishing regulations in the waters off of South Carolina and Georgia that the service kicked off last week. Nine different Coast Guard units partnered with South Carolina and Georgia’s Departments of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement to patrol both state and federal waterways, according to a Coast Guard release. >click to read< 08:49
2019 Shrimp season seems promising according to SCDNR
Commercial shrimp trawling opened in all legal South Carolina waters Wednesday morning. Hopes are much higher for this year to bring a plentiful harvest after a disappointing 2018. January 2018 brought an unusually cold period that killed a majority of white shrimp in South Carolina waters. This delayed the opening of shrimp season to mid-June instead of the usual opening of around mid- to late- May. >click to read<11:06
Mysterious South Carolina fish with humanlike teeth stumps the internet
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday asked its social media followers to identify a fish with “humanlike incisors.” he department posted a riddle to its Facebook page, which reads: “You’ll need a saltwater fishing license to catch me! I like to hang out near rocks, jetties, reefs, and even bridges … The coolest thing about me? I have human-like incisors and molars to help crush my food. I like shrimp and oysters just like you do!” >click to read<11:19
That trawler wasn’t harvesting shrimp
It’s not often that beachgoers see a shrimp trawler skirting the beaches less than a mile offshore and in broad daylight. That’s what happened last week along the Anastasia Island coastline as a 75-foot trawler made its way north and meandered close to shore, attracting the attention of vacationers. As it turned out, the well-equipped “Lady Lisa” wasn’t shrimping at all. She is one of four research vessels maintained by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The vessel is the primary sampling platform for several state and federal projects. It works near coastal waters between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. A vessel with a storied past! click here to read the story 14:21
A favorable forecast offered for 2017 South Carolina shrimp season
Commercial shrimp trawling will open in all legal South Carolina waters at 8 a.m. on May 24 and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) biologists are optimistic about the coming season. “So far we’ve seen indications that it should be a good year,” said Mel Bell, director of SCDNR’s Office of Fisheries Management. “Of course, after establishing the opening date, based on the condition of the resource, we have no control over how things will go. The success of the season will be up to the hard work of the fishermen and the environmental conditions they encounter throughout the year.” The present season comes on the heels of an unusual year. click here to read the story 09:47
Where to find fresh South Carolina shrimp: ‘The more marsh, the more shrimp’
“Shrimp are more concentrated off inlets from which they come out,” said Mel Bell, fisheries director for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Fresh shrimp could soon be ready for the cooker. The 2017 season is on the cusp of opening, and some boats already have catches in federally controlled ocean waters. Another good year of shrimping is forecast, mostly because more crustaceans survived the winter in relatively warmer waters. The DNR plans offshore sample trawls in the coming week after encouraging numbers of shrimp were found in previous inshore trawls. Outer state waters could be opened after that. Last year, the outer state waters — roughly two miles from shore — opened April 11. The nearshore waters, the heart of the shrimping grounds, opened a month later. Meanwhile, the federal waters farther out never did close over the winter and a few boats have continued to work them when the weather allows it. click here to read the story 10:42
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
South Carolina – Price for local shrimp could drop this year amid predictions of increased landings
There could be a drop in local shrimp prices this year. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is predicting a big increase in the number of shrimp. DNR says the last two years, the local shrimp output has been around 300,000 pounds, but this year, they’re predicting more than 500,000 pounds of white shrimp, almost double. The big reason behind the shortage was the winter weather. This year because of a fairly mild winter, more shrimp could grow. Video, Read the rest here 08:20
South Atlantic: When estimating fish populations, seeing is believing
Somewhere off the Atlantic coast of Florida, a fishing boat bobs in the swell, and Nate Bacheler helps swing a fish trap over the side. It’s a big metal cage shaped like a giant arrowhead, and it looks like the standard design. But this is no ordinary fish trap, and Nate Bacheler is no ordinary fisherman. Traps without cameras work great for many species. But some species, like gag grouper, have a habit of avoiding fish traps. Read he rest here 15:40
