192 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



THE SHRIMP FISHERY 



GEAR 



Shrimp today are taken largely by otter trawls although other types of 

 gear are used. Johnson and Lindner (1934) list haul seines, cast nets and 

 night trawls as gears of minor importance. In North Carolina, a special 

 gear, the channel net, has proved successful under local conditions. 



Shrimp trawls vary in width, the average in North Carolina being about 

 50 feet. They are made of 2 -inch stretched mesh webbing and consist of a 

 bag for collecting the catch and wings for guiding the shrimp into the bag. 

 Trawls are held open by otter boards or "doors" which function in water 

 much as a kite does in air. The boards, secured to the trawler by lines, hold 

 the net open and against the bottom when the net is pulled through the water. 



Haul seines vary from 150 to 300 fathoms in length and are made of i-^ 

 inch stretched mesh (Johnson and Lindner, 1934). Night trawls are of 

 comparatively recent origin. They consist of two trawls or bags of %-inch 

 mesh mounted in rectangular frames and secured at right angles to the 

 hull of the boat. They fish the upper meter of water and are used exclusively 

 at night. 



Seines, night trawls, and cast nets are not used commercially for shrimp 

 in North Carolina. 



A channel net is a shrimp trawl anchored at the surface of the water. 

 Otter boards are not used, but the net is held open by three or four poles 

 secured to the lead and cork lines. Extra floats keep channel nets at the 

 surface. One end is usually secured to an anchored boat; the other end is 

 held in position by a separate anchor. The net is fished by emptying the 

 cod end or bag into a skiff. Channel nets are fished only on ebb tides during 

 the hours of darkness. The use of this gear is limited to a local spring fishery 

 in Back and Core sounds. 



VESSELS 



Shrimp trawlers vary in tonnage, motive power, and size. During heavy 

 runs of shrimp virtually every type of boat able to pull a trawl is pressed 

 into service. According to Johnson and Lindner (1934) the boats range in 

 size from 5 to 30 tons, the majority less than 5. The two types most prevalent 

 in North Carolina are the Florida trawler and the Core sounder. 



Florida trawlers, which average about 50 feet in length, are usually pro- 

 pelled by about 100 horsepower diesel engines with power take-off driven 

 winches. These trawlers are equipped for several days' uninterrupted fishing 

 and have considerable hold space for shrimp and ice. Florida trawlers oper- 

 ate chiefly in the outside waters. They are usually owned by shrimp dealers 

 who employ crews to operate them. 



