@NCCapitol

Bill would ban shrimping near NC coast. Critics say it would cripple the industry

The North Carolina Senate gave its final approval for the shrimp trawling ban Thursday.
Posted 7:01 p.m. Jun 18 - Updated 6:21 p.m. Jun 19
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
      Flounder fishing bill would ban inshore shrimp trawling in NC

      Trawlers wouldn’t be allowed to net shrimp in North Carolina’s inland waters or within a half-mile of the coast under a proposal given final approval by the North Carolina Senate on Thursday. Critics say the measure, if approved, would destroy the state’s shrimping industry.

      The new shrimp trawling prohibition was added Tuesday without much notice to a bill previously passed by the House. That bill was intended to create a short fishing season for flounder and red snapper for the next four years. Members of a Senate agriculture committee engaged in bitter debate Tuesday over the change with one lawmaker later calling it "Shrimpgate."

      Wednesday, the Senate voted 41-4 to pass the bill with the trawling ban. The no votes were from Republicans who represent coastal counties.

      The Senate gave final approval Thursday with no debate. Sen. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck, the top critic of the ban, wasn't at the Senate on Thursday.

      Proponents said the measure puts North Carolina in line with trawling restrictions in Virginia and South Carolina and is needed to protect the 2.2 million acres of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary, the second-largest in the United States. The ban, they said, would allow other fish populations to thrive, a potential boon for recreational fishermen.

      Those against the trawling ban say the move could put many in the industry out of business as they’d be unable to move to offshore shrimping, and that they lead the nation in reducing bycatch. They said fish processing plants could be harmed without shrimp, leading to problems for other fishing businesses.

      The value of commercial shrimp caught in North Carolina in 2023 was more than $14 million, according to stats frm the Division of Marine Fisheries. That number was over $24.5 million in 2021.

      Dozens of fishermen gathered in the Senate gallery Wednesday, hours before the planned vote. They were acknowledged with a standing ovation before the Senate vote.

      Hanig offered five amendments and tried to split the bill into two parts, but was denied, largely by his Republican colleagues.

      “It reeks of the same old sleazy backroom politics and special interest that caused North Carolina endless fish wars,” Hanig said Tuesday in committee. He echoed those comments Wednesday on the Senate floor. “These tactics do nothing but cause division and disgust and disdain, helping no one and hurting far too many. We have the best seafood industry in the world and instead of propping it up, we’re destroying it. Yes, we are destroying it.”

      Opponents said that a study commissioned by the General Assembly on the impacts of shrimp trawling is due this year, and that this legislation is trying to preempt those findings. Further, they said, there is an ongoing lawsuit brought by the Coastal Conservation Association North Carolina and other groups that alleges the state has failed in its legal duties to properly manage coastal fisheries resources.

      Hanig asked that any legislation wait until those issues are decided.

      “It’s disgraceful,” Hanig said Tuesday. “This is nothing short of special interests and backroom deals.”

      He continued: “What we’re doing here is wrong, 100% wrong.”

      But supporters said it has been an issue for a while, including in 2017 when the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission opted not to adopt new restrictions. Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, said removing shrimp trawling will allow other species to flourish.

      “It hurts me to know that some people are going to be affected negatively by this, but the crabbers and the oystermen and the other fishermen are going to be positive,” Rabon said. “For every action, there is a reaction.”

      The state canceled its 2024 recreational flounder season after overfishing the amount allowed under a stock rebuilding plan. There are concerns that allowing a flounder season, without restrictions on trawling, could harm that population.

      Sen. Norman Sanderson, R-Pamlico, said many current shrimping boats couldn’t be converted to offshore trawling because they are too small. On the floor Wednesday, Sanderson said the bill would put people out of business.

      "I apologize to these people that are in this chamber this afternoon, who have come up here to advocate for their jobs and to advocate for their futures and to advocate to keep an industry that has been so regulated it's a minuscule of what it has been in the past and what it may be," Sanderson said.

      Glenn Skinner, the executive director of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, said he was frustrated by the trawl ban amendment. He said about 1 million acres of the estuary are already off-limits for shrimping.

      “All we’re asking is for a pat on the back for what we’ve done and a little help to do more and, instead, we feel like we’re getting slapped in the face,” he said Monday.

      But Chad Thomas, executive director of the NC Marine and Estuary Foundation, said the ban “is necessary to ensure the enhancement of nearly 900,000 additional acres of inshore habitat that are critical to our fish and shellfish populations.”

      He and others proposed paying commercial fishermen to compensate for income loss over the next few years due to the ban.

      Credits