June 18, 2025 — North Carolina’s shrimp industry faces a potential crackdown, as state senators pushed forward a bill on June 17 with a controversial amendment banning shrimp trawling within a half mile of the shoreline and inshore waters.
House Bill 442 passed the House in May, aiming to expand recreational flounder and red snapper fishing. However, during a Tuesday morning meeting, legislators in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Energy, and Environment added the last-minute shrimp amendment, prohibiting trawling in coastal fishing waters and within one-half mile of the shoreline, effective Dec. 1, 2025.
Sen. David Craven, R-Randolph, who introduced the amendment, said an estimated 4 pounds of “bycatch,” meaning species that were inadvertently brought in, were caught per pound of shrimp.
“Which is a lot of other species of fish that are getting caught in the net, potentially dying,” said Craven. “This has been an issue for quite some time, and I think it’s time this body addressed it.”
Supporters of the amendment argued it aligns North Carolina with South Carolina and Virginia, reducing bycatch and protecting estuarine habitats.
The bill proposes a recreational fishing season for flounder of not less than six weeks between May 15 and Nov. 15 annually, with a limit of one fish per person, per day. Similarly, a year-round red snapper season with a limit of two fish per person, per day, and a 20-inch size limit in state waters.
Read the full article at The Carolina Journal