Trawls are very non-selective, meaning it’s impossible to control what is being caught. As a result, many unwanted species such as juvenile fishes are harvested, killed, and wasted due to their small sizes. The chains and doors disrupt and destroy the natural bottom habitats like seagrass meadows, oyster beds, soft corals and sponges used as shelter and makes them vulnerable to the trailing net. Trawling leaves plumes of sediment that may stretch for miles, blocking sunlight, blanketing and suffocating vital seagrass meadows, oyster beds, and other critical habitats. Some argue that trawling is no different than the effects of hurricanes, yet this activity occurs virtually every day.

Yes. Imagine clear-cutting North Carolina’s state forests to benefit just a few businesses. That is essentially what is happening below the surface of our sounds. But because it happens underwater, the damage is invisible to most. Out of sight, out of mind.

• Trawl gear is dragged across the bottom of our sounds and estuaries resulting in widespread habitat destruction.
• For every pound of shrimp harvested, more than 4 pounds of non-target species are caught, discarded, and wasted.
• Nearly a billion small creatures representing at least 64 species are killed and discarded as waste each year. These species are important both as forage for other animals and – eventually – as food and recreational fish.
• The vast majority of the bycatch is comprised of juvenile fishes that have never had the opportunity to spawn and rebuild depleted populations.
• Inshore shrimp trawls dump tens of millions of pounds of dead sea life into our sounds each year.
• Because trawling occurs inshore where shrimp are also maturing to spawn, it diminishes the sustainability of our shrimp resource.
• The populations of many of the species most vulnerable to shrimp trawl bycatch such as spot, croaker, weakfish, and southern flounder are collapsed or collapsing.

In North Carolina, bottom trawling occurs in both inshore estuarine and offshore ocean waters. However, it is far more destructive in inshore estuarine waters like our sounds and rivers because of the sensitive, shallow-water nursery habitat where it is employed.

A recent poll showed that 69% of North Carolinians, across party affiliation, are in favor of closing our sounds to inshore bottom trawling.

Studies have shown that recreational and subsistence fishing and related business activities such as tourism, restaurants, marinas, tackle shops, etc. generate $1.6 billion/year for the state’s economy.

In North Carolina, the commercial shrimp trawl fishery harvested approximately 3.1 million pounds of shrimp from estuarine waters worth $8.4 million to the fishermen.

No. Much of the harvest from inshore trawlers are packed and shipped immediately out of our state to processors and dealers. Based on current prices, the supply of shrimp in North Carolina has exceeded demand. Many trawlers come from out-of-state to fish our estuarine waters, which they are prohibited from doing in their home state. A recent study showed that 58% of shrimp marketed as coming from North Carolina came from elsewhere.