Cold weather may delay Ga. shrimp season

BRUNSWICK - Shrimp boats could be docked longer than normal because Georgia appears likely to delay shrimping season after a cold winter apparently killed a large number of shrimp and also hurt the spotted seatrout in coastal estuaries.
Water temperatures in the mid-40s and below can kill shrimp and some species including spotted seatrout. The Florida Times-Union reports that for a second winter in a row, water temperatures in Georgia reached those lethal levels.
It's possible the shrimp have not died. Biologists say the cold may push them farther south and out of the DNR's sampling area.
``We'll likely delay the opening of state waters to food-shrimp harvest to allow more of the shrimp that survived the winter to spawn before being caught,'' said Pat Geer, chief of marine fisheries for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
DNR officials closed state waters which extend from the beach to three miles offshore to shrimping for the winter on Jan. 10. The season typically resumes the second or third week of June.
Other states have similar concerns. South Carolina authorities have asked the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to close the shrimp harvest in federal waters off the state until early June, Geer said. Due to high fuel costs, few trawlers are believed to be shrimping in the federal waters off Georgia, said Doug Haymans, the DNR representative to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
Samples taken over the winter suggest the shrimp population is down. In early December, DNR officials estimated the shrimp population was 11 percent above the Georgia's long-term average. Then came a cold snap that lasted into January, cooling tidal rivers and creeks. By February, DNR samples were showing the shrimp population along the coast appeared 95 percent below the same average.
Seatrout also appear to be affected by the cold. Fish kills have been reported from Savannah south to St. Simon's Island. Geer said better estimates on the seatrout population will not be available until a survey resumes this summer.
DNR officials and the nonprofit Coastal Conservation Association of Georgia are asking fisherman to voluntarily release any seatrout up to 18-inches long.
``The voluntary release of larger trout is a great way for the average angler to directly participate in conservation while helping ensure there'll be more fish to catch in the future,'' said John Duren, state chairman of the conservation association.