House Bill 442 would eliminate almost 70% of North Carolina’s shrimp harvest through a last-minute amendment that will majorly impact consumers.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES:
- Bans shrimp trawling within ½ mile of shoreline + ALL sounds, estuaries & rivers. Nearly 70% of NC Shrimp are caught in our sounds, rivers, and estuaries. (1)
- Forces consumers to rely on imported shrimp with antibiotic contamination, forced labor practices, fraudulent mislabeling & limited conservation standards
- Cripples rural coastal communities and devastates the primary income for many small fishing families
THE REALITY:
- North Carolina leads the nation in fisheries management and has proven conservation measures already in place
- Almost 1 million estuarine acres, nearly half of the system, are already permanently closed to trawling. These areas have been closed since 1978 to protect primary and secondary nursery areas, which are critical to a healthy fishery and ecosystem. (2)
- NC requires two bycatch reduction devices per net—more than any other state- with gear improvements cutting bycatch an additional 40-70% since 2019. (1)
- Trawling is banned from 9PM Friday to 5PM Sunday, removing 26% of trawling opportunity each week (1)
- Shrimping in NC is not a large-scale enterprise. Only 294 shrimp boats worked in NC waters in 2023. (4) On average, statewide commercial harvesters have lived in their home community for 35 years and have been in the commercial fishing business for 25 years.(3) Almost half fish alone or with unpaid family members. (3)
- Only shrimping in the ocean isn’t a solution. Most shrimp are harvested in our sounds and almost 80% of commercial fishing vessels are small or medium, less than 38 feet. (3) Restricting trawling to the ocean would disadvantage small boats, which are simply not equipped to work the ocean.
IF THIS BILL PASSES:
- Will eliminate ~70% of NC shrimp, seriously affecting your access to safe, local shrimp
- Unregulated, imported shrimp will dominate the market, which are known for antibiotic contamination, forced labor practices, fraudulent mislabeling & limited conservation standards
- There will be serious economic impacts on coastal communities and small fishing families
- Restaurants will be forced to contend with reduced local seafood availability
TAKE ACTION: Contact your legislators. https://www.ncleg.gov/findyourlegislators Tell them to OPPOSE TRAWL BAN AMENDMENT to House Bill 442 and protect access to fresh, sustainable North Carolina shrimp.
USE THIS LINK to draft an email to the entire house & senate: https://www.ncmegaphone.com
Email Subject: OPPOSE TRAWL BAN AMENDMENT
It can be as simple as: I oppose House Bill 442 Shrimp Ban Amendment.
SOURCES:
- https://www.deq.nc.gov/marine-fisheries/fisheries-management/annual-fmp-review/2022/shrimp/open
- https://sedarweb.org/documents/pw06-rd26-north-carolina-shrimp-fishery-management-plan-draft-amendment-1/
- https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NC-Commercial-Fishing-Survey.pdf
- https://www.deq.nc.gov/marine-fisheries/science-statistics/fisheries-statistics/big-book/2024-annual-report/open
Shrimp Trawlers @ Pamlico Packing Co. – Vandemere, NC