February 23, 2017 โ NEW BERN, N.C. โ A fishing industry advocacy group said the proposed state regulations in a recently approved petition could sink shrimp trawling in North Carolina, but a recreational fishermenโs environmental nonprofit thinks shrimping will just need to change.
Representatives from the N.C. Fisheries Association, a nonprofit industry group that advocates for the state seafood industry, and the North Carolina branch of the Coastal Conservation Association, an interstate nonprofit dedicated to protecting the coastal environment, spoke Tuesday to a crowd of about 84 people at the regular meeting of the Coastal Carolina Taxpayerโs Association at the Stanly Hall Ballroom. The association invited them to provide their opinions on the petition for rulemaking approved Thursday by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission.
Jerry Schill, NCFA executive director, said the association thinks the proposed special secondary nursery areas are the biggest problem with the petitionโs proposed rules.
โThe people who created this petition, they donโt understand the history of the (shrimp trawl bycatch) issue,โ he said. โThe fishing industry created nursery areas in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the term โbycatchโ came up. Now we have turtle excluder devices in shrimp trawls and sea turtles have rebounded. Finfish bycatch is still an issue, but bycatch reduction devices are being used.โ