DNR News
** Archived Article - please check for current information. **
Nov. 7, 2013
Shrimp-baiting season closes Nov. 12 in S.C. waters
The 2013 shrimp-baiting season closes on noon Tuesday, Nov. 12. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Law Enforcement Division in Charleston advises baiters not to have bait or poles in a boat that is in the water after noon on Nov. 12. The public is asked to report violations of saltwater recreational and commercial fishing laws by calling the Coast Watch hotline number (1-800-922-5431) toll-free, 24 hours a day.
Post-season mail surveys conducted every year since 1988 indicate that recent total catches have been less
than 1 million pounds per season (heads on) after peaking at more than 3.6 million pounds in 1997. Despite the decline in total catch, catch per trip has remained relatively stable, averaging about 20-22 quarts per trip since 2001. The stable catch-per-trip suggests that shrimp abundance has remained relatively good, but fewer licenses and shrimping trips are resulting in a lower overall harvest. Recent sampling by DNR's Crustacean Monitoring Program caught fair numbers of shrimp along the southern coast and average quantities near Charleston, according to Larry DeLancey, program supervisor, but overall size is smaller than usual. Areas around Port Royal and St. Helena Sounds produced the largest shrimp.
The shrimp baiting season lasts 60 days, resident licenses cost $25 and nonresidents licenses cost $500. The catch limit is 48 quarts of shrimp measured heads-on (29 quarts heads-off) per boat or set of poles per day, and each boat is limited to a set of 10 poles. When taking shrimp over bait, no cast net may be used having a mesh smaller than one-half inch square measure or one inch stretch measure.
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- Volunteer instructors sought to teach Family Fishing Clinics
- Freshwater fishing trends
- Saltwater fishing trends
- S.C. weekly tidetable
- DNR video
- Archived news releases
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