Look again at allowing shrimp baiting

Every year, thousands of licenses are issued to catch shrimp over bait in South Carolina's saltwater creeks and rivers, and every year commercial shrimpers complain about its impact on their business.

Add to the chorus, environmentalists who complain about the clay-and-fishmeal mixture dumped in local waterways to attract the shrimp and the potential harm done to the resource from such intensive fishing in a short two-month window. This year, the season started Sept. 12 and ends at noon Nov. 10.

Catching shrimp lured to one spot with bait is a long-standing tradition in South Carolina, but that doesn't mean it has to continue, and it certainly doesn't mean it shouldn't be re-evaluated.

Many of the complaints over the years have stemmed from people selling shrimp caught over bait, something specifically banned under state law. It still happens. Two people were arrested in November 2008 for doing it. (It's also illegal to knowingly buy shrimp caught over bait.)

Laws setting out the rules for shrimp baiting were passed in 1988.In South Carolina, the number of licenses issued peaked in 1998 at 17,497, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Last year, 8,346 licenses were purchased. The total catch peaked in 1997 at 3.6 million pounds, DNR says. The department looks to mailed-in surveys to determine the catch each year. Recent years' catches have totaled about 1 million pounds, the department says.

But how reliable is that? How much enforcement do we have, particularly intight budget times?

The complaints have been so consistent over the years, they warrant state officials thoroughly addressing them. Florida bans shrimp baiting at night. That certainly would make it easier to enforce the rules and catch any lawbreakers. Georgia has banned shrimp baiting since 1981.

DNR biologist Larry DeLancey said he wasn't sure how the baiting season affects the shrimp population. Let's find out.