NCWF Files Inshore trawling Rule Making Petition to protect juvenile fish and nursery habitat
The Marine Fisheries Commission is expected to vote on this proposal on Thursday, August 22. Read on for more on how you can show your support before they take final action.
The N.C. Wildlife Federation is asking the Marine Fisheries Commission to:
· Designate new Shrimp Trawl Management Areas in the Pamlico Sound and other internal waters where juvenile fish are abundant;
· Allow the Division of Marine Fisheries to open shrimp season once shrimp reach a certain size, by June 15, in new Shrimp Trawl Management Areas;
· Allow shrimping on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week in new Shrimp Trawl Management Areas;
· Limit the size of headropes – or shrimping nets – to 110 feet total in new Shrimp Trawl Management Areas.
These common sense, research-based strategies will:
· put North Carolina’s commercial and recreational fisheries on the road to recovery by reducing juvenile fish deaths and allowing more fish the opportunity to spawn at least once before being harvested.
· protect areas essential to the growth and viability of economically beneficial fish species.