9 Apr 11 -
Regulators could delay the start of Georgia's shrimp season because
abnormally cold weather - lethally cold weather - may have killed a
large number of shrimp and seatrout, says this article in the
Florida Times-Union.
Georgia's Department of Natural Resources is calling on fishermen to
voluntarily release 18-inch seatrout to help that population rebound
from the winter chill.
When the water temperature drops to the mid-to-low 40s, the cold
kills over-wintering shrimp and some fish species including spotted
seatrout, said Spud Woodward, director of DNR's Coastal Resources
Division.
Lethal cold
For the second winter in a row, water temperatures dropped to lethal
levels.
The cold snap began in mid-December and lasted into January. By
February, the shrimp catch plunged to 95 percent below average, and
remained 92 percent below average in March.
In South Carolina, the shrimp population dropped so drastically that
state officials asked NOAA to close federal waters off South
Carolina until early June.
Federal waters offshore of Georgia remain open to shrimping, but
with fuel costs so high, many shrimp boats remain at the dock.
See entire article:
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2011-04-09/story/georgia-shrimp-season-could-be-delayed
Thanks to Marc Morano for this link
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