The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources wants all recreational and commercial shrimpers to report any catches of non-native tiger shrimp.
The DNR says there has been a "striking" increase in the number of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) reported by shrimpers from North Carolina to Florida and across the Gulf States from Florida to Texas.
You can report tiger shrimp catches by emailing DNR at tigershrimp@dnr.sc.gov. Include a picture if you can, along with details about the location and date of the catch.
If you get a tiger shrimp that's less than 5 inches long, DNR asks that you freeze it and turn it in to them.
Resource officers say mature tiger shrimp are larger than native shrimp, growing up to a foot in length. They have distinctive light and dark bands across their backs.
DNR says tiger shrimp "were first reported in the wild in South Carolina in 1988 following an accidental release of approximately 2,000 animals from an aquaculture facility in Bluffton, SC.
Later that year, nearly 300 tiger shrimp were collected by commercial shrimp trawlers fishing along the South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida Atlantic coasts. This species is not likely to survive typical winter conditions in coastal waters of South Carolina and only lives 2-3 years. There were no further reports of this species from the wild in the southeastern U.S. for eighteen years, suggesting that the animals released in 1988 did not establish a wild population.
In 2006, low numbers of tiger shrimp began showing up again across the southeastern United States. Sources for this possible new introduction of tiger shrimp include aquaculture operations in the Caribbean, northern South America, and the west coast of Africa. Tiger shrimp that escaped from aquaculture in these areas subsequently established breeding populations in adjacent waters. Young tiger shrimp are mobile and may travel great distances carried by transoceanic currents, tropical storms, or in ballast water."
