BY MILES LAYTON

RALEIGH —The General Assembly just gave the seafood industry the middle finger by approving a bill that included an amendment that critics say will sink the local shrimping in our state. 

Supporters of the amendment say it will protect the environment, protect fish stocks and preserve coastal estuaries.

A late amendment to House Bill 442 seeks to prohibit shrimp trawling for four years within our coastal waters, such as the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, and within ½ mile of the Atlantic shoreline. And, the amendment makes violations subject to license loss, forfeiture of catch, and enforcement penalties as well as override the authority of the Marine Fisheries Commission to permit such activities. If this bill becomes law, the shrimping ban will expire on August 1, 2029.

When that Senate Committee on Agriculture, Energy, and Environment met Tuesday, it approved HB 442, which included that amendment, so the proposed law will now work its way through the General Assembly. The bill’s next stop is the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations which meets at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 18 before the proposal goes to the full Senate for consideration.

If you want to contact your legislators, the General Assembly’s switchboard number is 919-733-4111.

Worth noting, the Albemarle Commission issued an urgent legislative alert Monday questioning the wisdom of this amendment to make people aware of this proposed legislation and the potential for local impact.

Shrimp trawling in inshore waters is a key economic activity in coastal and inland communities, the alert said. This amendment has not been studied or vetted through normal legislative or scientific review processes.

“It poses a serious threat to North Carolina’s commercial fishing sector, local food systems, and working watermen,” the alert said.

Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, defended the amendment, saying trawling harms fish nurseries and damages coastal ecosystems, including the state’s sounds, which are part of the second biggest estuary in the nation – Chesapeake Bay being the biggest. Moreover, Rabon said shrimpers from neighboring states such as Virginia and South Carolina harvest shrimp from our waters because of those states’ more restrictive laws on shrimping. By passing this amendment, Rabon said, NC will have the same restrictions in place as these two states.  

Rabon acknowledges that the proposed law will hurt the shrimping industry, but restoring ecosystems will help fishermen and crabbers. Rabon said because the amendment addresses “archaic things that we have allowed to happen” it should be considered “common sense” and “good policy.” 

As co-chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Energy, and Environment, Senator Norm Sanderson, R-Carteret, voiced his opposition to the amendment, saying this proposal “would take the opportunity away” from people working in this industry. He noted how much people like to eat shrimp and come near and far to eat seafood, one of the state’s biggest industries, so this bill would affect everyone from the fisherman to the restaurant owner to the customers. 

Sanderson said most shrimpers’ boats are too small to harvest shrimp offshore away from the sounds and rivers, so the state’s promises to help these fishermen through compensation to upgrade their boats to be better suited for offshore work are hollow. 

Sanderson said the amendment strongly favors out-of-state interests, shrimp farmed in other countries – “that’s not good for human consumption.” 

Sanderson said trawling does not harm the marine ecosystem – how crabbing methods are harder on the environment, but that’s not being targeted. 

The controversial amendment was introduced into HB 442 on Monday – the committee meeting was on Tuesday.  

“I don’t understand why this bill is being pushed through so quickly,” Sanderson said. 

Senator Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck, who raised the alarm at the amendment, tried to offer counter amendments, but to no avail. He said if there were more time, legislators could review studies that support the shrimping industry’s assertions that it’s not harmful to the estuary. 

Hanig urged the senators to vote against the amendment, calling it “a disservice to the citizens of North Carolina.” 

Though 17 people, perhaps traveling from long distances, signed up to speak about the matter, only a handful got to give brief 2-minute speeches because of the committee’s tight, very tight time constraints.   

Glen Skinner of the North Carolina Fisheries Association said the amendment is “a slap in the face” to the shrimping industry, that’s sure to put these fishermen out of work. 

Executive Director at NC Marine and Estuary Foundation Chad Thomas said passing this bill is a huge step toward protecting the ecosystem, which would benefit fishing as a whole. 

New Bern business owner Brent Fulcher applied an analogy, saying the amendment would be as if the state were telling farmers they could only plant corn – meaning that would harm shrimping. He said the amendment would have a direct impact on food safety – which should be considered important by lawmakers. He said passing this amendment would seriously harm the infrastructure needed to harvest shrimp. 

A former member of the NC Marine Fisheries Commission, Cameron Boltes spoke in support of HB 442, saying it will protect fishing resources as a whole. He said by moving shrimping from the sounds to the ocean, fishermen will get higher prices for their catch.   “Removing bottom trawls is the single best way to reduce fish mortality.

“Each year, hundreds of millions of valuable fish are needlessly killed due to large-scale, inshore bottom shrimp trawling,” he said. “Support from the North Carolina Senate on House Bill 442 will finally help our fisheries begin to recover.”

After the Senate meeting, Tim Gestwicki, CEO of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation offered this statement to the Albemarle Observer.

“North Carolina Wildlife Federation is pleased to see the North Carolina Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment committee take action on this critical issue. Prohibiting large-scale, inshore bottom shrimp trawling is the single most effective action North Carolina can take to protect our fish stocks and preserve our estuaries. North Carolina is the only state on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that still allows this destructive practice inside its juvenile fish nurseries. We urge the Senate to support House Bill 442, affirming its commitment to safeguarding our public trust resources.”

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