the shrimp harvested from North Carolina waters, according to the 

 N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). 



Trawl boats operate by pulling nets through the water, scooping 

 up shrimp and other nontarget species, called bycatch, as they pass. The 

 bycatch is usually thrown back overboard — much of it dead or dying 

 from the ordeal of being caught in the net. 



Elaine Logothetis, a researcher studying bycatch ratios through 

 another ERG project, estimates that for the inshore trawl fishery in 

 Onslow County, an average of .75-pound of finfish are caught for every 

 pound of shrimp. 



Kenny Sessions sets his traps just before high tide to intercept the shrimp as they head toward the 

 inlets on the incoming tide. 



Some trawl nets drag the bottom of the seafloor, to "tickle" shrimp 

 up from their hiding places. While these nets work well to flush shrimp 

 out of hiding, the gear also can disrupt structure and habitat on the ocean 

 or sound bottom. 



In recent years, trawling has come under fire for habitat destruction 

 and the high amount of bycatch associated with the gear. North Carolina 

 shrimpers are also facing pressure from farm-raised and imported shrimp 

 products that have flooded the seafood market, often sold at lower prices 

 than native wild shrimp. 



With gas prices rising in recent years and shrimp prices falling, 

 many shrimpers find it hard to cover their operating costs. Most target a 

 different fishery or find work in other industries. 



A Different Design 



Shrimp naturally move through the inlets to spawn offshore. Usually, 

 they move at night when the tide is rising, so they "walk against the tide," 

 explains Teresa Thorpe, a research biologist at the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington Center for Marine Science. Thorpe is working 

 with Sessions on his FRG project. 



Sessions uses the natural movements of shrimp to his advantage 

 — he simply places his traps to intercept the tasty crustaceans as they head 

 offshore. Because Sessions' traps sit stationary in the waterway, habitat 

 damage is minimal, adds Thorpe. 



Another benefit of Sessions' trap 

 is its low rate of bycatch. Preliminary 

 bycatch ratios from his trap suggest that 

 .10-pound of finfish is caught for every 

 pound of shrimp. 



"But, we can release them alive 

 because they stay alive in these traps," 

 says Sessions. "In fact, preliminary 

 data show that more than 95 percent of 

 the bycatch survive being caught in the 

 traps," adds Thorpe. 



Sessions believes his gear benefits 

 the shrimp too. 



The trap allows fresh water 

 to circulate around the shrimp until 

 Sessions collects and empties the traps. 

 That circulation keeps the shrimp 

 alive and fresh, even when water 

 temperatures hit the balmy 85-degree 

 mark in the summer. 



As Sessions empties the trap 

 into a bucket, the shrimp flail and 

 flop around until he dumps them into 

 an ice bath. The icy water is what 

 actually kills the shrimp, a practice 

 acknowledged to produce a particularly 

 fresh and attractive food product. 



Sessions, who holds a commercial 

 fishing license, sells most of his shrimp on contract. Restaurant owners and 

 others who know about his method are willing to pay top dollar for large, 

 fresh shrimp caught in an environmentally friendly way, Sessions says. 

 He also gives some shrimp to people he meets along the waterway — 

 to help get the word out about what he's doing. 



Recreational Ruckus, 

 Commercial Curiosity 



FRG projects, funded by the North Carolina General Assembly and 

 administered by North Carolina Sea Grant, often are developed by fishers 

 in response to a need or a problem within a fishery. That's exactly how 



Sessions' project was bom. Continued 



Coastwatch I Winter 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 23 



