Letter to the Editor: Trawling hurts fish population

Regarding the Feb. 15 Point of View “YES: To save N.C. fish, limit shrimp trawling”: I agree with the proposed ban on all inshore bottom trawling in North Carolina.

Amazingly, we are the only state that still allows it. It catches juvenile fish by the millions, despite the “excluders.” It also catches crabs and shellfish, too. It damages the critical grassbeds. It indiscriminately removes anything in the trawl’s path.

I pulled shrimp nets many years ago. I’ve seen it first-hand. It is akin to clear-cutting our forests, except that it is out of sight of the public’s eyes, therefore most people have no clue as to what is really going on.

What’s worse is that not all of the juvenile fish are “bycatch” from the shrimp industry as is claimed. It is intentional. I’ve seen pallets stacked with dozens of 50-pound boxes of 3-inch-long fish that were targeted for use as nothing more than crab bait. They were mostly croakers, spot and grey trout, which have all seen declines over the years.

The grey trout limit for recreational fishing is one fish greater than 12 inches long, yet the trawlers legally take millions that are a third of that size. It’s a shame and it needs to stop. The resource is not unlimited.

WALTON JOYNER JR.

RALEIGH

Do you like this post?

Showing 1 reaction

Sign in with

Facebook Twitter

Ronald Mabee commented 2017-02-26 08:32:04 -0500
I too have seen with my own eyes, that after areas are opened to inshore trawling the dead juvenile fish left in their wake. A day or two later the dead fish can be seen stacked together like a weed line…exactly as described in Mr. Joyner’s comment. I understand the commercial fisherman’s plight and if this practice continues there will be no discussion because there will be very little fish to harvest and they will put their own self out of business. The same outcry from commercial fishermen was heard from the rest of the east coast and the gulf states but laws were passed and their fish stocks have rebounded in huge numbers! NC legislators need to wake up and not be the only state that allows this practice. With the habitat here in our great state it should be common to catch an eight (8) pound trout or being able to keep more than one grey trout, one red drum etc. Unfortunately it’s not only the trawler’s but gill nets too kill indiscriminately. I have seen where a unattended gill net had well over a hundred red drum, all dead… I understand we will never achieve the same point of view on this subject but to continue the same practice’s as in the past, the future looks very grim for our fishery!

nc's fishing economy is failing. demand action.

News