Management Considerations for By-catch in the North Carolina and Southeast Shrimp Fishery

Abstract

Many observers believe that commercial shrimp by-catch will be the most important issue southeastern U.S. fishery managers must address during the next several years. Although the biological impact of by-catch on finfish stocks is uncertain for many species, there is evidence that it may already be affecting red snapper, mackerel, and weakfish stocks. Available management measures to reduce by-catch include area and season closures and gear modification requirements. Recent experiences in the Southeast with turtle excluder devices are instructive for developing policy and implementing management regimes. Through a 1990 amendment to the Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Congress established a 3-year program to assess the impact on fishery resources of incidental harvest by the shrimp trawl fishery. The Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Development Foundation is forming a steering committee to develop a strategic plan and to establish criteria for evaluating gear for the management of by-catch in the Southeast shrimp fishery. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (NCMFC) recently required the Division of Marine Fisheries to establish the goal of reducing by-catch to the absolute minimum, and appointed a scrap-fish committee to develop draft recommendations for affecting fisheries. In order to achieve an acceptable compromise by the fishery constiuency, good coordination, communication, and citizen participation processes are required. The committees offer an important opportunity for developing by-catch management systems.