only able to trawl in Brunswick once during the 



&n. 



In addition to banning shrimping in the 

 ICW in Brunswick and New Hanover counties, 

 Rep. Sailer's 2003 bycatch bill had caDed for a 

 ban in the Cape Fear River. Later, the bill was 

 rewritten to exclude the river because larger 

 commercial vessels trawl there. 



Besides, notes McCuistion: "We don't 

 catch enough there to justify closing the river 

 based on the amount of bycatch." 



He and Logothetis documented the lowest 

 bycatch to shrimp ratio in the Cape Fear River 

 — only 0.38 pounds of bycatch for every pound 

 of shrimp. 



UNCERTAIN FISHERY, 

 UNCERTAIN FUTURE 



Managing a fishery as complex and 

 geographicaUy diverse as North Carolina's 

 shrimp fishery is difficult, but each season is a 

 new challenge for those who trawl. 



"I've done this for 33 years and no two 

 years are the same," says McCuiston. "Next 

 year, there may be a ton of shrimp down in 



Brunswick County." 



He and Logothetis plan to find out — they 

 were recently awarded another FRG grant to 

 continue the bycatch study in 2005. 



"If every year is different, you can't base 

 potentiaUy permanent management decisions on 

 one year's worth of data," says Logothetis. 



One thing everyone is sure about is that 

 shrimp seem to be getting smaUer every year. For 

 shrimpers, that means more DMF closures, fewer 

 days trawling, and a less marketable product. 



"There's nothing wrong with smaU shrimp," 

 says Logothetis. "They taste the same, but people 

 don't want them." 



Some on the Shrimp Advisory Committee 

 blame increased development along the ICW for 

 smaUer wild shrimp. 



"If shrimp are forced to leave nursery 

 areas because of poUution, they can't grow to a 

 marketable size," says Henry Daniels, a shrimper 

 from Belhaven, and member of the Shrimp 

 Advisory Committee. 



Although that may be true, bycatch 

 remains a prominent issue for the state's 

 southeastern inside waters as the DMF develops 



its recommendations for the Shrimp Fishery 

 Management Plan. 



"The main portion of the plan is 

 completed," says Carpenter. "Now we are just 

 addressing individual areas." 



The DMF expects to present the N.C. 

 Marine Fisheries Commission with a draft of 

 the management plan in June, adds Carpenter. 

 From there, the commission will review the DMF 

 recommendations, as well as any dissenting 

 opinions put forth by the Shrimp Advisory 

 Committee on individual issues such as access to 

 areas in Brunswick County. Final decisions on 

 such matters will rest with the commission. 



"The division is trying to change 

 management some, but they are taking little steps 

 instead of big giant leaps," observes McCuiston. 



And little steps are often the easiest for aU 

 parties to take. 



"It's hard for the fishing community to vote 

 for options that are going to take work away from 

 them," he adds. □ 



The Shrimp Fishery Management Plan 

 will be available online later this summer at 

 www.ncfisheries.net. 



SURVIVING 

 THE CULL BOX 



In addition to investigating what 

 kind and how much bycatch is produced 

 by shrimping in North Carolina's inside 

 waters, Logothetis was curious how well 

 the bycatch, particularly finfish, fared 

 after they were returned to the water. 



"When you put a fish back in the 

 water it may look alive, but there is no 

 way to tell if it survives afterward," she 

 says. 



As she and McCuiston separated 



shrimp from bycatch after each trawl, 

 Logothetis would put some of the fish into 

 a large cooler containing water from the 

 area, an aerator and a circulation pump. 

 Normally, McCuiston would just toss these fish 

 overboard as he culled, she explains. 



Logothetis documented each species and 

 left them in the cooler for at least two hours. 

 When she eventually put them back in the 

 water, she recorded whether individuals were 

 alive and healthy, alive but weak, or dead. 



It's more stressful for fish to be caught 

 in nets than other animals, like blue crabs, she 



notes: "Fish have a delicate physiology and 

 need water passing over their gills." 



In comparison, the hard shell of a 

 crab is better able to endure being out of 

 the water for longer periods of time. 



Logothetis found that higher water 

 temperatures and cull times greater than 

 30 minutes decreased survivability rates 

 offish. In 2005, she plans to expand the 

 study and factor in fish size. 



"Several studies have found that 

 smaller size fish have lower survivability 

 than larger size fish," she adds. — K.A, 



COASTWATCH 19 



