6.22- Shrimping in the harbor

A small boat trawls for shrimp in Oriental harbor at sunset

With June comes the evening ritual of a dozen or more small boats trawling for Brown Shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) in and near Oriental Harbor... they are not allowed to shrimp on the other side of the Hwy. 55 bridge, seen in the above photo.

The boats motor slowly around the harbor and a bit into the River Neuse (generally counterclockwise, so far as I can tell) dragging their trawlnets behind, then hoisting and sorting the catch in the boat.

Typically the first shrimpers show up in the harbor in the late afternoon/early evening, and by sunset there will be a dozen or more working the harbor, many staying until near midnight.

Brown shrimp comprise about 65 percent of all shrimp catches in NC... In the fall, shrimpers will concentrate on White shrimp (aka Green Tail) and a minuscule catch of pink shrimp in the spring.

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