NC Wildlife Federation calling for end to inshore shrimp trawling following cancelation of recreational flounder season

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The seafood industry contributes nearly $300 million to North Carolina’s economy.

But the state’s Wildlife Federation is calling for the end to inshore shrimp trawling due to its impact on other species.

The call to end inshore trawling comes following the cancelation of the recreational flounder season.

North Carolina is the only state along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts to allow in-shore shrimp trawling, or trawling in rivers and bays.

Every other state only allows coastal trawling out in the ocean.

Trawling involves dragging a net along the sea floor, which can catch other creatures besides shrimp. When that happens, that is called bycatch.

For example, senior marine scientist Dr. Louis Daniel said trawling bycatch of flounder was around 60,000 pounds last year, a decent percentage of the amount allowed to be caught by the commercial flounder fishery.

Daniel said flounder isn’t the only species affected by trawling.

“And what we know is that many of the species that were historically very important to North Carolina, recreational and commercial fisheries such as spot and Atlantic Croaker and wheatfish and southern flounder and blue crabs even are a significant component of the trawl fishery in the estuary,” Daniel said. “And those stocks are declining and are in many instances, they have collapsed.”

The flounder season was canceled because fishermen exceeded the limit by more than 127,000 pounds.

According to the NC Wildlife Federation, for every pound of shrimp harvested in North Carolina, 4 pounds of bycatch are discarded by trawlers.