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Fishing seasons in the Mississippi are subject to closing if oil is detecting flowing into the waters. (Photo: NOAA)
Shrimp season opens in two states
UNITED STATES
Thursday, June 03, 2010, 00:40 (GMT + 9)
The 2010-11 shrimp season opens this Wednesday west of the East Biloxi Ship Channel in Mississippi, said the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR). In the state of South Carolina, the season opened on Tuesday.
On Monday DMR and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality closed a certain part of the state’s territorial marine waters to all commercial and recreational fishing, including all species of finfish, crabs, shrimp and oysters after oil was discovered in the area around the Mississippi. Fishers caught retaining any marine species will have to return them to the water.
The area opening this Wednesday envelops all Mississippi waters west of a line beginning at Beacon “18" in the East Biloxi Bay Channel, including the channel. It then follows the eastern side of the channel southward until it crosses the Mississippi/exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 3 mile nautical line.
These waters may close on short notice if oil is detected flowing into the open area.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s (SC) commercial shrimp fishing season opened two weeks late on Tuesday. The delay was meant to allow white shrimp populations to recover from a winter cold spell.
Although shrimp numbers do not compare to those of previous years, biologists from the SC Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expect a good fishing season, reports Georgetown Times.
The commercial season opens once the white shrimp are allowed to spawn, and the offspring are netted in the autumn.
“It looks surprisingly good after the cold,” said DNR biologist Larry DeLancey. “We did see good numbers in a lot of places. It looked like there were more shrimp in Charleston and Georgetown counties.”
He said brown shrimp, which are caught in mid-summer, appear to be doing well.
DNR officials explained that the opening of commercial shrimping season was delayed this year, “due to concerns over loss of a significant portion of the state’s overwintering white shrimp.” Some white shrimp died after being caught in unusually cold inshore waters in mid-January.
“Sampling this winter and spring by Marine Resources Division personnel revealed lower than average numbers of shrimp inside our estuaries, reinforcing the need for a later opening of the season,’’ informed Mel Bell, DNR’s Director of Office of Fisheries Management.
“Recent sampling of near shore waters from Georgetown to Hilton Head yielded some encouraging signs that a good number of white shrimp had begun spawning by mid-May and would continue to spawn this week,” he continued.
Spring commercial shrimp landings over the past several years have averaged around 350,000 lb, he said.
The shrimping industry generates some USD 5 million yearly in revenue for South Carolina.
Related articles:
- Fisheries disaster declared in oil-stricken Gulf
- Major US fishery takes a beating after oil spill
- 93 pct of federal Gulf remains open to fishing
By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media
Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA/NMFS
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