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A shrimp fishery is a fishery directed toward harvesting either shrimp or prawns. (Fisheries do not generally distinguish between the two taxa, and the terms are used interchangeably).

Commercial fisheries

Commercial shrimp boats in Georgetown, South Carolina harbor.

Common methods for catching shrimp include otter trawls, cast nets, seines, shrimp baiting and dip netting. Trawling involves the use of a system of nets. In some parts of the Pacific Northwest, fishing with baited traps is also common.

People who catch shrimp are referred to as shrimpers, and the act of catching shrimp is called shrimping. Strikers are the crewmen on the boat who set up and strike the nets.

The following table shows the yearly weight of shrimp and prawns captured globally in millions of tonnes.¹

Shrimp bycatch

According to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, in the Gulf of Mexico, three pounds of bycatch are caught for every pound of shrimp that goes to market. According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature, in the Gulf of Thailand it can be 14 pounds of bycatch per pound of shrimp. Bycatch is often discarded dead or dying by the time it is returned to the sea. Sea turtles, already critically endangered, have been killed by the thousands in shrimp trawl nets.

Concerns about bycatch have led fishermen and scientists to develop devices they can put on their nets to reduce unwanted catch. The "bycatch reduction device" (BRD) and the Nordmore grate are net modifications that help fish escape from shrimp nets. All US shrimp trawlers—and all foreign fleets selling shrimp in the US—are supposed to outfit their nets with trap-door turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to let sea turtles escape. However, not every nation enforces TED use with equal vigor.

Recreational fisheries

• Shrimp baiting is a recreational shrimping technique. It involves using bait patties, which are a time-release bait, typically concocted of at least fish meal and clay, though shrimpers sometimes have a secret concoction for their bait patties. The patties are then put in the water, and one waits for the shrimp to arrive. The fisher then throws a cast net over the shrimp to catch them. These nets are typically anywhere from 4 to 10 feet in length when they are unfurled and have a ring of lead weights around the bottom. A lantern is usually placed over the spot where the bait patties have been set out.

• Dip netting is another recreational shrimping technique. Its name comes from the traditional tool used to scoop shrimp out of shallow water grass flats by individual shrimpers. While the vast majority of dip netters still use the traditional dip net to catch shrimp, the growth of "sport shrimping" recreational devices like the Ozello Shrimper now enable individuals to harvest shrimp for personal consumption in a competitive fashion with much higher yields than previously possible with dip nets. Much like fishing poles and professional tackle did for the fishing industry, these new devices are bringing shrimp to more dinner tables in shrimp producing regions.

In the Gulf of Mexico, the shrimp season takes place in the summer months. The timing is generally between late May and early July beginning later and ending earlier the further north along the coast a location is.

Shrimpers on horseback, Oostduinkerke, Belgium.

Evening silhouettes of shrimp boats in Palacios, Texas.

Pandalus borealis is a popular food source.

See also

• Krill fishery
• Shrimp farm

Further reading

• The Carolina Watermen by Richard and Barbara Kelly (Blair, 1993)

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