Shrimp trawling ban in NC sounds dies in the state House, Republicans say
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- House Republicans declined to advance House Bill 442 banning shrimp trawling.
- Shrimpers and coastal lawmakers opposed the bill over industry impact concerns.
- Legislators may revisit the issue, but no action is expected before the break.
North Carolina House Republicans won’t take up a bill that would ban shrimp trawling in North Carolina sounds, they said Wednesday — a decision met with jubilation from shrimpers in the Legislative Building.
Republican Rep. Mitchell Setzer, the House speaker pro tempore, confirmed the decision with The News & Observer.
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House Bill 442 was revised early last week to include an amendment banning trawling within a half-mile of the coast. Before the amendment, the bill originally sought to expand fishing seasons for flounder and red snapper.
Shrimpers and lawmakers representing coastal regions saw the last-minute amendment as dangerous for the industry and the coastal economy.
“We are one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world already,” said one of the industry’s supporters who gathered at the legislature, Caroline Lawrence. “We can already celebrate that we’ve already made it to that point. So for people to say we’re not sustainable doesn’t make any sense.”
The revision was also made less than two weeks before a three-year report on the environmental impacts of trawling was to be released, according to one opponent.
Shrimpers celebrated in the Legislative Building’s atrium, ending a week of protests.
Bills are rarely truly dead in the legislature, and similar legislation could resurface later. But lawmakers are not expected to take it up this week ahead of an extended break.
Senate leader Phil Berger said after the Senate’s Wednesday session that the ban is needed.
“I think the strong vote we saw in the Senate was an indication of how supportive across the state banning shrimp trawling in inland waters is,” Berger said. “I think if they put it on the floor, it would pass.”
The ban passed the Senate with just four coastal Republicans opposed, and all Democrats in support.
But in the House, two lawmakers on the left of the Democratic caucus and on the right of the Republican caucus — Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison and Republican Rep. Keith Kidwell — rallied behind the shrimpers Tuesday.
On Wednesday, it became clear their cause had won the day among House Republicans.
Berger said he stands by the notion that current trawling practices are detrimental to the state’s fish populations.
“It’s time for us to change that,” Berger said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM.
