June 19, 2025 — The North Carolina Senate approved a bill Thursday that bans commercial shrimp trawling in inshore waters, including sounds.
Sen. Bobby Hanig, a Republican who represents multiple coastal counties, passionately opposed the ban.
“We need to save our heritage. We need to save our fisheries,” he said during a floor debate on Wednesday.
Hanig unsuccessfully proposed multiple amendments, including one to remove the ban from a bill where it was introduced by amendment just one day before. He was absent from the second of two required votes on the bill Thursday, as were seven other senators.
That original bill expanded recreational fishing seasons for flounder and red snapper.
Only four senators, all Republicans representing coastal areas, voted against the bill Wednesday: Hanig, Norman Sanderson, Bob Brinson and Michael Lazzara. With Hanig and Lazzara absent for the second vote on Thursday, the vote was 39-2, with Brinson and Sanderson opposed. There was no debate. Senate Democrats told reporters after the bill passed on Thursday that environmental concerns were the main reason for supporting the measure. The bill now goes back to the House.