Editor’s note: This story was corrected to say that shrimp trawling could be banned if N.C. House Bill 442 is passed. It would have to pass both houses and be signed by the governor. We will post a follow-up story soon.
By Connie Leinbach
If N.C. House Bill 442 passes with a shrimp trawling ban amendment, fresh, local shrimp could be a thing of the past.
Hyde County Manager Kris Noble told members of the OCBA board Tuesday night about this effort to ban inshore shrimping in the Pamlico Sound.
The amendment bans shrimp trawling in all inshore waters and a half mile off the beach.
“This new restriction would essentially wipe out the North Carolina shrimp industry,” said Sara Teaster of the Ocracoke Seafood Company.
The bill and its amendment could pass as early as 4 p.m. this afternoon.
Noble and the Hyde County Board of Commissioners this morning sent a resolution (see below) to Senator Phil Berger, president pro tempore of the Senate, urging the General Assembly to eliminate the Trawl Ban provisions in House Bill 442.
“Our county and its citizens will be greatly harmed if this bill passes,” Noble said in her email to Berger. “The shrimp trawling industry coupled with farming are the two main industries in Hyde County and this bill would devastate us economically and socially.”
Noble further said that the amendment was endorsed by inaccurate statements on the harms of shrimp trawling.
“North Carolina has highly regulated fisheries and our stocks are healthy,” she said. “The Pamlico Sound is a vibrant estuary filled with abundant stocks. These claims against trawling are unsupported by science and, in my opinion as a lifetime resident of Hyde County, are a mechanism to commandeer resources that belong to the people of this great state, not one user group.
The resolution urges the General Assembly to reject this amendment and “engage with fishermen, scientists, and coastal leaders before advancing any measure that would cripple a historic and sustainable fishery.”
More information on this bill can be found on the Coastal Review Online website here.
In addition to Berger, Noble urged residents to send emails to legislators before 4 p.m. today to House Speaker Destin Hall (destin.hall@ncleg.gov) and all Hyde County legislative delegates.
The following are the emails of legislators on the Senate Ag, Energy and Environment Committee:
lisa.barnes@ncleg.gov
Brent.Jackson@ncleg.gov
Sen. Norman Sanderson (who represents Hyde County) norman.sanderson@ncleg.gov
bob.brinson@ncleg.gov
Jim.Burgin@ncleg.gov
jay.chaudhuri@ncleg.gov
david.craven@ncleg.gov
michael.garrett@ncleg.gov
lisa.grafstein@ncleg.gov
Sen. Bobby Hanig (of Currituck, who used to represent Hyde County) Bobby.Hanig@ncleg.gov
steve.jarvis@ncleg.gov
julie.mayfield@ncleg.gov
Tom.McInnis@ncleg.gov
chris.measmer@ncleg.gov
natalie.murdock@ncleg.gov
Buck.Newton@ncleg.gov
Senator Bill Rabon (who proposed the amendment) Bill.Rabon@ncleg.gov
DeAndrea.Salvador@ncleg.gov
eddie.settle@ncleg.gov
kandie.smith@ncleg.gov
