North Carolina Shrimpers Win Battle but Do You Know What They Have to go Through?
- Topsail Times
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
By Deborah Swaney McKnight
Not much gets underneath my skin more than a "subject matter expert" who hasn't taken the time to actually do some research. I'm not claiming I know everything but I do try to have an informed opinion. I thought my blood was going to boil this morning as I read the arrogant comments from folks who aren't as knowledgeable as they believe themselves to be.
House Bill 442 is an example of corruption. That Senator David Craven (R representing Randolph County) would add an amendment to a bill at the last minute, when no one was watching is an indictment of his integrity. I said what I said, and I meant what I said.
For years, I've said that commercial fishermen were convenient scapegoats. Let's be honest. As a group, they don't have the same financial resources that the recreational sports fishing industry does. Salt life and Budweiser- just to name a couple - aren't contributing to commercial fishermen, where they certainly are supporting sports fishermen.
If the state of North Carolina was truly concerned about our fisheries, they would recognize how the runoff from development has been increasingly problematic, having a significant negative impact on estuaries in North Carolina. Poorly planned developments have led to increased erosion, which has led to more sediments in the runoff. These sediments harm fish by clogging their gills, reduces visibility for predators that hunt by sight and by reducing the light penetration needed by aquatic plants, etc. Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from lawns and agricultural runoff and failing septic systems have led to algae growth and oxygen depletion. And don't forget the bacteria from overloaded sewage systems, which have introduced fecal bacteria into our estuaries.
The number of shrimpers have declined over the years while poorly planned developments have increased exponentially. I don't need a PhD to see a direct correlation between the rise of poorly planned housing developments, the rise of water pollution leading to estruary health concerns, and the demonization of commercial fishermen. I find it telling when some of the very people who have benefited from this development are also the ones shouting the loudest. It's a little like Nero watching Rome burn all the while blaming the problem on the folks being affected the most.
For those not familiar with shrimp nets: Nets are required to include turtle excluding devices, also known as TEDs. Single grid hard TEDs have an escape opening of at least 44 inches when stretched horizontally and 20 inches when stretched vertically. Parker Soft TEDs can have a 56 inch opening and Hooped Hard TEDs may have a thirty five inch by twenty seven inch opening.
Fish Excluder Devises or Bycatch Reduction Devises must have a minimum escape opening of six inches and a minimum leg length of twelve inches, which totals a minimum of thirty-six square inches of escape area.
And then there's the trawl nets, which regulations require a minimum mesh length of one and 1 1/2 inches. There's also regulations regarding the overall size of trawnets, while tailbags have a minimum mesh length of one- and three-quarter inches.
Studies have shown that TEDs have a 97% effective rate in excluding turtles with shrimp loss rates anywhere from 1% - 6% while BRDs reduce fin fish bycatch by at least 40% and a 4% -11% loss in shrimp catch.
In 2015, the state of North Carolina was the only state to require the use of two fin fish excluders with each independently certified to reduce bycatch by at least thirty percent. In 2019, further regulations mandated specific BRD combinations that demonstrated 40% to 55% more bycatch reduction than previous requirements.
It's not like shrimpers are out there "burning down" the very areas they live and work. Common sense would dictate that of all people; they are more concerned with maintaining a healthy water/fish/shrimp environment.
It would have been nice if Senator Craven would have come to the coast and taken the time to educate himself - talk with the shrimpers, go out shrimping, look at the historical evidence that proves that trawling doesn't do the harm that the sports fishing supporters claim. It would have even been better if he would have worried about what was going on in his area of the state and left the elected officials who represent Eastern/Coastal North Carolina to handle the issues and concerns our area faces.
