MURRELLS INLET, SC (WBTW) – Commercial fishermen are now able to catch shrimp in South Carolina waters, but it could take months before they consistently bring in big hauls.
Joey Mosakowski from Perry’s Bait and Tackle says he wasn’t impressed with how many shrimp he found Tuesday.
“I caught six shrimp, some squid and fish, and other stuff like that,” Mosakowski said. “There was like 50 dolphins around the boat, but other than that, nothing.”
He wasn’t surprised though. Commercial shrimp season started Tuesday, about a month later than usual.
The state department of natural resources says the cold winter lowered many water temperatures below 48 degrees, which killed off most white shrimp.
“In my opinion, it’s kind of like fruit,” said Russell Vereen, who owns Russell’s Seafood Grill and Raw Bar. “Nothing’s ripe year-round, so you have to catch it during the seasons.
Vereen’s restaurant buys shrimp from local fishermen.
He says he expects to pay a little more for shrimp, but that prices should return to normal.
“As things pick up, it should drop some,” Vereen said. “It depends on how much they catch and how long it lasts.”
Mosakowski says he hopes there are plenty of brown shrimp later this year. The DNR says brown shrimp likely weren’t hurt by the cold winter.
For now, Mosakowski says he plans to sail down near Charleston to find shrimp.
“Usually, there’s not much going on around this area this time of year anyway,” said Mosakowski. “We have to go south to get them.”
Shrimping in federal waters did start last week.
The DNR says it’s hopeful there will be stronger shrimp crops in the fall.
