Comercial shrimping / sea grass
Posted: May 3rd, 2025, 11:09 am
I recently fished the keaton beach area (report to follow) and noticed an unusual amount of floating grass for this time of year. Since there haven't been any major storms I'm searching for an explanation. An informed friend indicated they thought it was due to commercial shrimping activity. From what I can tell they can pull their nets as close as a mile from shore and at certain times of the year even closer. I could see how this could do significant damage to the shallow water grasses. It seams odd that there isn't more protection for an area called the 'Big Bend Seagrass Preservation Preserve'. As everyone knows, the seagrass is the reason this area is such a tremendous fishery. I'm hoping someone can educate me better on the rules regarding commercial shrimping and how this can be done in a preserve.