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North Carolina has three main types of shrimp: brown, pink and white. Shrimp are estuarine dependent - that means they live in marshes and estuaries when they are very young because it’s safe and there is plenty of food. They grow very quickly, doubling in size every few weeks. When shrimp are almost full grown, they swim out of the estuaries into the ocean.

Shrimp are considered an annual crop because they do not live very long, only about two years. The amount of shrimp we have from year to year varies, depending on the weather. If we have a very cold winter, then we will have a small shrimp population the following spring. If we have lots of rain, then the shrimp will move out into the ocean before they are fully grown.

Shrimp are one of the most economically important fisheries in North Carolina. You can view the poundage and value of shrimp landings here. Most of these shrimp are caught with trawl nets in our sounds and rivers.

To read about the three different types of shrimp click here.