Written by Dan Woodard

t’s shrimping time again! Shrimp season in the LowCountry is, in my humble opinion, one of the best natural resources South Carolina has to offer. The May River will be full of boats and poles for the next sixty days as everyone will be harvesting coolers of shrimp.

South Carolina’s recreational shrimp baiting season opened at noon Friday, September 16th and ends at noon Tuesday, November 8th. This season shows promise, as white shrimp have been in the creeks in high numbers the past three weeks.

Bait shrimping is permitted in the fall. It is the only time when it is legal to use bait to attract shrimp, and the locals are fanatical about catching shrimp to fill the freezer for winter.

The 2005 shrimp season opened in September with mixed results, based on information received from a number of shrimpers. Overall, things look pretty good, with good numbers of shrimp available, however the average size is still small. Barring huge rains from a tropical system, the shrimp should get to be much larger size by October.

DNR marine biologist Larry DeLancey, whose group just completed a sampling cruise south of Charleston, and recently sampled around Charleston and Georgetown, says the 2005 season could be good, depending on the weather.

Most of the locals know about shrimp baiting and the rules, but for those of you that are new to shrimping over bait, you can go online to www.dnr.state.sc.us/etc/rulesregs.html and print out a complete set of rules and regulations. Here are some of the highlights and a few interesting facts about the life of a shrimp in the May River.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) establishes annually a sixty day open season between September 1st and November 15th for taking shrimp over baited areas. The sixty days are not required to be consecutive. The cost of a shrimp baiting license for residents is $25.00 and $500.00 for non-residents. This allows each license holder ten poles. The distance between the first and last pole may not exceed 100 yards and each pole may not exceed one inch in diameter. All poles must have the SCDNR issued tag securely attached to it, and must be plainly marked with reflective tape. When taking shrimp over bait, the catch limit is no more than forty-eight quarts of whole shrimp or twenty-nine quarts of headed shrimp for each set of poles per day. You are not allowed to use a cast net having a mesh size smaller than one-half inch or one inch stretch measure.

Upon researching the life cycle of shrimp in the May River, I was surprised to find how short it is, an average of 8 to 9 months. White shrimp typically spawn during May and early June. A single female shrimp produces between 500,000 and 1,000,000 eggs and may spawn several times during a season. After laying her eggs, it takes about 12 to 24 hours for them to hatch, and they will grow 2 to 2 1/2 inches per month. As shrimp become larger, they leave the brackish water and move gradually toward the ocean. When the shrimp reach about four inches in length, will usually begin moving into the coastal rivers, and from there move to the lower reaches of sounds, bays and river mouths. These lower reaches, termed “staging areas”, serve to accumulate shrimp just prior to dispersal into the ocean. When the shrimp are in these staging areas, many move into the shallow water at high tide to feed at night. That’s why you see all the boats, poles and lights in the river when the tide is starting to rise. White shrimp appear to remain in the staging areas until the water temperature falls to about 60°-65˚F. Primarily, the migration begins during large tides, which are associated with the new and full moons. Experienced shrimpers claim that the condition known as “red legs” is indicative to the onset of migration. The record size for white shrimp is just over ten inches and was caught by a commercial shrimper in July of 1979 off Seabrook Island.

Conditions this year have been conducive for recruitment and growth of white shrimp with the relatively mild, cool spring and correct mix of rainfall,” Cain said. White shrimp generally account for about 70 percent of the annual catch.

I hope this article has given you some small insight into shrimp baiting and the life span of shrimp. Shrimp baiting season in our local waters can be one of the most enjoyable and bountiful experiences our state has to offer. Those people who catch more than their fair share of this valuable resource not only violate the law, but may force the SCDNR to create tighter restrictions for all users, so remember, use it, but please don’t abuse it!
If you don’t have your license yet, there’s still plenty of time and the best shrimping is hopefully still to come. You can get a shrimp license at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offices in Charleston at the Marine Resources Center on James Island or in Columbia at DNR headquarters on the first floor of the Rembert Dennis Building at 1000 Assembly St. For more information on shrimp baiting or to obtain a baiting license, call the DNR at (843) 953-9312 in Charleston. The Columbia DNR licensing office can be reached at (803) 734-3838. Also check the DNR Web site at www.dnr. state.sc.us/etc/rulesregs/pdf/ saltfishing.pdf for more information.