NC fishing regulators start process to limit shrimp catch

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina regulators are starting a process that could limit how intensely shrimp boats can trawl coastal waters.

The Star-News of Wilmington reports (https://bit.ly/2m1FjD5) the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission decided Thursday to start the rulemaking process in an effort to save the young fish scooped up in their nets.

The decision comes despite opposition of the commission’s members representing commercial fishing operators.

The rules could eventually limit shrimping to three days on the Intracoastal Waterway and other estuaries and four days on the ocean within three miles of shore. David Knight of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation said that would improve the number and quality of shrimp as well as other commercial fish.

North Carolina fishermen landed about nine million pounds of shrimp in 2015, worth about $17 million.