Sgt. Hartman said:

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I know HEB advertises "wild caught" shrimp but maybe if we are concerned with our fisheries we should look for farm-raised?

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Or perhaps HEB could fund a graduate or PHD candidate in WFS to find a more efficient less wasteful way for catching shrimp.

Sgt. Hartman said:

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I know HEB advertises "wild caught" shrimp but maybe if we are concerned with our fisheries we should look for farm-raised?

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There are systems that have been researched and are running that could provide year round farm raised shrimp.

Biggest problem of traditional shrimp farming is it is a seasonal thing. Also, most farms don't have a breading/hatchery program. Most of the farms that were in S.TX bought juvenile shrimp. Plus water use regulations are a pain.

If you do but farm raised shrimp, make sure where it's from. If there is not a placard stating origin, don't buy it. There's no telling where it's from, China/Vietnam/SE Asia, and their environmental quality isn't great at the farms.

So the one on Copano Bay is not year round? It's totally enclosed I assume for climate control. I don't know much about it other than I have fished right by it.

Are we a talking gulf shrimping here or bay shrimping? Or both?

Sgt. Hartman said:

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So the one on Copano Bay is not year round? It's totally enclosed I assume for climate control. I don't know much about it other than I have fished right by it.

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That's a new place since I got out aquaculture, particularly shrimp mariculture.

SanAntoneAg said:

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Are we a talking gulf shrimping here or bay shrimping? Or both?

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All shrimping regardless of location. I'm no expert, but I've kept up with it, as a concerned fisherman and CCA board member.

Many places are studying Bycatch reduction devices. These are things added to nets, that allow fish to swim out, but keep weaker swimmers, like shrimp in. It's estimated that 80% of what is pulled in, by dragging, is bycatch.

The best numbers I have seen concerning BCDs allow about 15-20% of that bycatch to get away. That still puts it at over 50% of the stuff you kill with your nets, not being the target species.

There are legal mandates for Turtle reduction devices in Texas, when the laws are followed. This is slowly helping the turtles make a come back. But there are no mandatory BCDs in place yet to help fin fish.

As an industry, my perception from being around them on the coast over the past few decades, is that most shrimpers could care less about regulations and fines as they are very weakly enforced/levied on the rare occasion that they are caught red-handed. Maybe the larger commercial operations do as they have more at risk. But the smaller bay bait operations seem to break any rule they see fit, as they feel entitled to decimate the shrimp populations, since they are shrimpers. This is all anecdotal from my personal experience, but we used to fish with bait a lot in the late 80s and all through the 90s, so I came into contact with lots of shrimpers.

Maybe that has changed. I am not sure. We switched to artificials only about 15 years ago, and don't deal with the hassle of bait much anymore. I hope the attitude has gotten better. I hope some science on the BCDs is forthcoming and we can count on less kill in an average net. I guess time will tell.

You are correct . My now deceased uncle used to spend a lot of time at Kline's drinking coffee with the local shrimpers many years ago. He said that all of those old salts hated the TEDs they were supposed to use.

Many, many years ago I got to go out on a boat in Copano bay when I was a pup. It really is a ton of bycatch and back then I had no clue. About the only thing that benefits are the seagulls, crabs, and some isolated porpoises. I like shrimp but hate the thought of farm raised unless in US verified. I'd rather give it up and give the resource back to the people.

I also know that the TEDs were a major issue for years and look what it has done for the population. Bycatch would be the same.

What % of the bycatch is shad?

Troutslime said:

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What % of the bycatch is shad?

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not much, mostly croaker menhaden and yellowtail by bulk, with some catfish shad crab flounder and juv. black drum trout spp and reds mixed in then some larger killies and other misc species if you are in the bay.