NORTH CAROLINA — Two bills passed by the North Carolina Senate addressing a shrimp trawling ban in the state’s inland waters will not advance in the House this legislative session. Brunswick County District 17 Representative Frank Iler confirmed the news Wednesday afternoon.
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Iler sent a text to Port City Daily while the House was in session that House Bill 442 would “destroy” the North Carolina shrimp industry, which brought in $14 million to the state in 2023. The House Republican Caucus that Iler is part of decided to halt progression; the caucus can refuse to schedule bills for committee hearings or full House floor votes.
Originally written to expand fishing seasons for flounder and red snapper and sponsored by Iler, H.B. 442 was revised last week by Senator Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) to include a late amendment prohibiting shrimp trawling within a half-mile of the coast. Trawling is a commercial fishing practice involving pulling large nets behind boats and some advocates, like the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, argue inshore trawling is harmful to the coastal environment and contributes to declining fish stocks as a result of bycatch.
Shrimpers, however, viewed the amendment as a significant threat to their industry and the coastal economy. Opponents highlighted the amendment was made just under two weeks before the scheduled release of a three-year report on the environmental effects of trawling.
Its companion bill, House Bill 441, will also not advance. Though initially focused on designating the loggerhead sea turtle as North Carolina’s official saltwater reptile, H.B. 441 was significantly amended two days after the amended 442 came to the forefront, with the goal to create a shrimp trawling transition program. It was designed to offer temporary financial support to commercial fishermen impacted by a potential ban.
The decision to not move forward with either bill was met with jubilation from hundreds of shrimpers who picketed at the Legislative Building in Raleigh. The protests began Monday and continued into Tuesday, with signs indicating “No to H.B. 442 — fishermen have friends everywhere” and T-shirts emblazoned with “NC seafood for all — no trawl ban.”
On Monday, a group also unloaded pounds of shrimp on Jones Street, in front of the Legislative Building.
Barry Holden with Holden’s Seafood in Shallotte said he is thankful lawmakers decided not to progress the bills further. Though Barry didn’t attend the protests, his son did.
“For us, I think it means about everything because about 75% of our shrimp are caught inshore in that half mile amendment they were going to have,” Barry told Port City Daily. “It means a lot to everybody. It was basically going to put us out of business.”
Though bills can resurface, H.B. 441 and H.B. 442 won’t be considered by the House this week before the extended summer break.
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