June 21, 2024 — A bill introduced last month in the U.S. House of Representatives that could place limits on trawling by fishermen and shrimpers is drawing the fire of seafood industry groups from Alaska to Florida.
House Resolution 8507, the Bottom Trawl Clarity Act, would require the nation’s eight regional Fisheries Management councils, some of which allow fishing trawls to scrape the bottom, to define the terms “substantial” versus “limited” contact of the bottom.
The measure would also require the designation of bottom trawl zones and limit the number of areas where bottom trawling is allowed. This form of trawling utilizes weighted nets equipped with rollers to harvest shrimp, flounder, whiting, red hake, dogfish and some species of crab.