After a biological review of catch sizes, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA) has announced it will open federal waters offshore from Texas to trawling for brown shrimp starting the evening of Friday, 15 July.
The waters off Texas are closed to shrimp fishing annually to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest, and to prevent waste of brown shrimp that might otherwise be discarded because of their small size, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
The re-opening date for Texas waters is based on the results of biological sampling by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the organization said. Shrimp trawling will be allowed in federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas starting 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on 15 July, corresponding to the time the states opens its waters to shrimp trawling, the organization said in a press release.
