DNR News
** Archived Article - please check for current information. **
November 13, 2012
Shrimp-baiting season closes Nov. 13 in S.C. waters
The 2012 shrimp-baiting season closed on noon Tuesday, Nov. 13. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources 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. 13. 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.
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.
More News
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- Shrimp-baiting season closes Nov. 13 in S.C. waters
- South Carolina Conservation Bank funds six new land grant applications
- Youth coon hunt to be held in Travelers Rest on Saturday, Nov. 24
- 19 junior anglers participate in Byrnes Fishing Club tournament
- Wild turkey harvest in SC increases substantially this spring
- Dove hunting resumes Nov. 17
- 2011-12 quail season slightly improved from previous year
- Highest loggerhead nesting for South Carolina since 1982
- New Endangered Species (loggerhead sea turtle) license plate
- Freshwater fishing trends
- Saltwater fishing trends
- S.C. weekly tidetable
- DNR video
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