Americans eat more shrimp than ever before. Whether it’s battered and fried, steamed or boiled, shrimp is a national obsession. It seems we will eat as much shrimp as we can get our hands on — over 1.5 billion pounds per year and climbing. No longer the kind of delicacy flaunted at weddings next to the caviar, shrimp is now seen as a commodity ingredient, something to pluck out of the freezer and toss into your waiting pan of buttery garlic whenever you need a speedy, convenient dinner. Amid this boom in shrimp consumption, however, questions hang over the industry. Is our obsession with shrimp sustainable? Is the fishing of wild shrimp devastating the sea turtle population? And why exactly do some shrimp sell for $6 a pound while others cost three times as much? These and other questions were voiced by shrimp trawlers and the public at a recent meeting held with NC Marine Fisheries officials in Emerald Isle last month.
At the meeting, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries recommended the closing of 320,000 acres of coastal waters to shrimp trawling as a means of further reducing bycatch, the unintended catch of endangered fish and other species, Combined with 1 million acres already closed to trawling, the division recommendations would have closed 62.1% of the state’s estuary waters to shrimp trawlers, basically all the waters from Bogue Sound to the border with South Carolina. At the public comment period, 55 people spoke. Officials heard from consumers, from recreational guys, from big boats, little boats, government representatives, commercial fishermen, seafood dealers and restaurant owners. The majority of these speakers were opposed to the Division of Marine Fisheries recommendations, Carteret County Commissioner Chris Chadwick said “If you fail these working watermen, you’ve also failed the eastern North Carolina consumer.” Others stated that there’s no scientific data to support widespread closures to shrimp trawling. And others still said that to blanket close waters connected to the nursery areas to maybe reduce bycatch would get rid of all the shrimpers in Carteret County and eastern North Carolina and put seafood places and restaurants out of business.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina supported the recommended closures stating that the amount of bycatch in shrimp trawling is “obscene” and more consideration is needed for protecting marine resources for recreational fishermen. The representatives, David Sneed and Chris Elkins stated that the value of North Carolina recreational fishing dwarfs commercial fishing and that the golden goose of recreational fishing is a priority over commercial fishing concerns.
The amount of bycatch, now that is the big issue with wild-shrimp fishing. Every species in the ocean gets caught, inadvertently, in a shrimp net at some point. This inadvertent catch or bycatch as it is known in the industry can range anywhere from two to 10 pounds for every pound of shrimp caught. Over the past few years, bycatch rates in the Carolinas and the United States have been going down, the result of a concerted industry effort, along with legislation requiring shrimp nets to be outfitted with devices like turtle excluders. Indeed, North Carolina was the first state to include excluder devices in shrimp trawls. But still, bycatch remains a hot button item with commercial and recreational fishing interests. Mostly, there’s no market for the bycatch so most shrimpers simply throw it back into the ocean.
In the end, the sweeping closures recommended by the Division of Marine Fisheries was rejected by the Marine Fisheries Commissioners. But, the Commission will be recommending closing some areas to shrimp trawling. If given final approval, trawling will be permanently prohibited in crab sanctuary areas, and in Bogue Sound along the Crystal Coast. This is not a trivial recommendation. This recommendation amounts to almost 69,000 acres, an area that sustained 120 shrimpers who caught almost 500,000 pounds of shrimp on average per year from 2010-19. Stay tuned to this channel as this issue winds its way through government and regulatory channels.
To be sure, wild caught shrimp is an issue that will not go away anytime soon here along the Crystal Coast or elsewhere. Virtually all of the domestic wild-caught shrimp on the market here in the United States comes from waters off the Carolina coast and the Gulf of Mexico. And, as regulations become more restrictive, the number of wild caught domestic shrimp is not likely to increase. As it is, domestic, wild-caught shrimp accounts for less than 10 percent of all the shrimp we eat in this country. As our hunger for shrimp grows, the answer may lie in farming shrimp. Most experts agree that without aquaculture, there won’t be enough seafood to go around 10 years from now. The ocean is already under too much pressure to be the sole resource. Decades of overfishing and environmental insults have decimated many seafood populations. And, while aquaculture is a viable alternative, shrimp aquaculture has a very grim reputation, especially where the shrimp are raised in countries without much government oversight or intervention. I’m speaking to you, Thailand.
At the end of the day, if consumers want the best, most sustainable and most ethical shrimp, it’s up to them to seek it out. If you don’t live near a coast, like I do, and aren’t dedicated to the search, the chance of coming across fresh — never frozen — wild-caught shrimp is pretty slim. This is rare, seasonal seafood that you’ll need to seek out. The rewards, however, are tremendous. Ask me how I know. And this may require a shift in expectations, particularly when it comes to price. Maybe people should think of shrimp like steak: a once-in-a-while thing that’s worth paying more for.
To learn more about shrimp, how it's caught and how it is prepared along the Crystal Coast, go to my website, www.EmeraldIsleHomesforSaleNC.com and sign up for my blog. Ready to buy or sell? Call me at 919-308-2292. Explore the video tab for my weekly uploads to my YouTube channel. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and receive free donuts at my Flip Flops Donut shop. Text your email address to 919-308-2292 and subscribe to my newsletter. My book, "Live Where You Vacation" is available on Amazon.com.
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