(Beaufort, N.C.) It’s official: the influx of Asian tiger shrimp into N.C. waters, the rest of the South Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico is significantly worrisome, if not downright frightening. Dr. James Morris, a marine ecologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, said recently that a report from the U.S. Geological Survey indicated that the numbers of the jumbo shrimp, which can grow as long as 13 inches, increased tenfold between 2010 and 2011. “If that trend continues this year, we’ll be able to say we’re certain this is truly an ‘invasion,’ that these shrimp are self-reproducing, not just a one-time pulse,” Morris said. “It’s looking serious. If it keeps up, we’ll reach a ‘point of no return.’ There could be significant implications, including possible disruptions in the food web.” The USGS survey notes that watermen brought in only 32 of the Asian shrimp in 2010, but caught 331 in 2011. Experts say the population is probably far higher than those numbers indicate, as fishermen generally report sightings and catches less often as they become more familiar with the species. The tiger shrimp first came to widespread attention in North Carolina late last summer, when Sam Meadows, a commercial fisherman in Cedar Point in Carteret County, caught about 35 in the Cape Fear region and off South Carolina, between Georgetown and Charleston. Others were caught in Pamlico Sound.
>> Read More
