II. SECOND BRD REQUIREMENTS:

It is unlawful for a person to use a shrimp trawl in coastal fishing waters without a second Authorized North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) Bycatch Reduction Device(s) (BRD) as outlined in Section I. OR an additional Ancillary BRD, both operational and properly installed in each net. Ancillary BRDs include:

A. Reduced bar spacing in a TED, to be considered ancillary BRD the bar spacing in the TED shall not exceed three inches from inside edge to inside edge of bars.

B. If the primary BRD is a Florida Fish Excluder (Section I. A.), and the second authorized BRD is a FFE then the second Florida Fish Excluder shall be installed in accordance with section I.A. with the exception that the second FFE can be installed no further forward than 5 meshes from the apex of the primary FFE and the same distance from the centerline as the primary FFE with the apex of the second FFE facing the headrope of the trawl and shall be exempt from requirement I.A.5. as to the 65% placement of the FFE.

C. A T-90 or square mesh (T-45) cod end shall be installed in a minimum of ½ the effective cod end length.

D. T-90 or square mesh (T-45) panels shall be constructed with a minimum of 2 inch stretched mesh, cover a minimum of the top 1/3 of the effective circumference of the cod end, be a minimum of 3 feet in length, and shall be installed no further forward than 6 feet from the cod end tie-off rings.

III. EXEMPTIONS:

These BRD restrictions do not apply to a single test trawl net (try net) with a headrope length of 16 feet or less, if it is operated under the following conditions:

A. net is either pulled immediately in front of another net or is not connected to another net in any way;

B. no more than one net is used at a time; and

C. net is not towed as a primary net.

IV. DEFINITIONS: For the purposes of this proclamation, the following terms are hereby defined:

A. Bycatch reduction device (BRD) - any gear or trawl modification (including modifications to a TED that would enhance finfish exclusion) designed to allow finfish to escape from a shrimp trawl. BRD is defined based on its ability to facilitate the escape of finfish from a shrimp trawl.

B. Turtle Excluder Device (TED) - An inclined grid or netting panel that prevents the passage of large animals such as sea turtles and large fish into the cod end and guides them through an escape opening located in the cod end. TED is defined based on its ability to exclude sea turtles from a shrimp trawl.

C. Tail bag/Cod end - That portion of the trawl net at which the trawl bodies taper ends and the straight extension begins, extending to the terminal end of the trawl.

D. Functional Cod end Length - That length of the cod end of a trawl beginning at the cod end tie-off rings and extending forward for a maximum of 105 meshes or to the point where the straight extension ends and the trawl body taper begins, whichever is less. Trawls utilizing short cod ends may include those meshes of the TED extension that are behind the TED grid and are in-line with the center of the FFE escape opening.

E. Centerline - The line running from the center point of the headrope to the top center of the end of the cod end.

F. T-90 – Webbing turned 90°.



Illustration of (A) traditional (T-0) webbing and (B) T-90 webbing.

G. Square mesh panel (T-45) – Webbing turned 45°, such that panels are sewed in with the bar width facing the headrope.

Illustration of traditional (T-0) webbing and square mesh (T-45) webbing.