The shrimp-baiters season in South Carolina may be as lackluster as it was last year.
“Recent sampling by the Department of Natural Resources collected below average numbers of shrimp available for fall harvest, with heavy rainfall and river runoff during the summer washing small shrimp down into some coastal areas, similar to 2013,” said the agency in a news release.
Recreational shrimpers who purchase a shrimp-baiting license can legally cast their nets for shrimp over bait during the season. Shrimp-baiting season will remain open until noon on Nov. 12. The 60-day season began on Friday.
“Areas around Port Royal and St. Helena Sounds may produce the largest shrimp,” says the agency.
“DNR biologists recommend that in general, shrimpers should target areas closer to the ocean to avoid smaller shrimp.”
Since 1988, post-season mail surveys indicate recent total catches have been less than 1 million pounds each season after hitting a high of more than 3.6 million pounds in 1997.
However, according to agency officials, shrimp abundance has remained relatively good, considering the stable catch-per-trip. Fewer licenses and shrimping trips are leading to a smaller total harvest.
Meanwhile commercial shrimpers in South Carolina and Georgia waters have struggled in recent years. Georgia’s hardship was so severe a request was made for federal relief.
The secretary of commerce has not made a determination for the Georgia white shrimp request. If the secretary does declare a disaster, Congress will still need to appropriate funds, said Kim Amendola, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
U.S. consumers largely rely on shrimp imported from other countries.
Of the shrimp harvested domestically, 68 percent come from the Gulf of Mexico, particularly Texas and Louisiana, according to NOAA. In July, the agency projected that the brown shrimp harvest in the western Gulf of Mexico will be 53.2 million pounds, below the 52-year average of 56.5 million pounds.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
• The catch limit is 48 quarts of shrimp measured heads-on (29 quarts heads-off) per boat or set of poles per day.
• Each boat is limited to a set of 10 poles.
• When taking shrimp over bait, no cast net may be used having a mesh smaller than one-half inch square measure or one inch stretch measure.
• Resident licenses cost $25 and non-residents licenses cost $500.