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Scraping the Seafloor: What Shrimp Trawling Leaves Behind

by | Oct 12, 2026

A shrimp bottom trawler operating in estuarine waters that serve as fish nursery habitat. The vessel leaves a plume of sediment in its wake as seabirds follow behind. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026.

Lauren Tippett/ We Animals

Photographer: Lauren Tippett

Videographer: Lauren Tippett

Written by: We Animals

In North Carolina’s estuaries, juvenile fish caught in trawling nets are discarded as “waste” before they ever have a chance to reach adulthood.

Estuaries are often called the “nurseries of the sea.” Where rivers meet the ocean, their shallow, sheltered waters offer a refuge where young fish and other animals can safely feed, grow, and avoid predators before moving into deeper waters.

The US state of North Carolina has the second-largest estuarine system in the country, with more than 2.2 million acres (nearly one million hectares) of inshore habitat, where millions of animals start their lives each year. But commercial shrimp trawlers scrape the seafloor, capturing juvenile animals before they can mature.

A male ostrich is controlled by handlers while being used to give rides to students at an ostrich farm. Undisclosed location, Kajiado, Kenya, 2026. Mical Gia / We Animals

A person holds a dead squid, discarded as bycatch from a shrimp bottom trawler. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026. 

Lauren Tippett / We Animals

Ostriches stand in an enclosure at an ostrich farm. Ostriches of different ages are kept in separate enclosures.

A pile of dead fish lies on the deck of a shrimp bottom trawler as crew members sort through their catch. The crew members keep brown shrimp and discard juvenile fish and other aquatic animals as bycatch. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026. 

Lauren Tippett / We Animals

We Animals photographer, Lauren Tippett, documented trawling nets dragging the bottom of the estuary floor for hours, pulling up bycatch that was dumped onto the boats’ sorting trays. Juvenile fish were returned to the water either dead or injured. The trawlers left trails of dead animals and churned-up sediment, which research shows can release trapped nutrients and contaminants into the water and reduce visibility enough to disorient marine life.

“All of the fish that I witnessed discarded were babies… Their parents laid eggs in the estuary so that their babies could be protected from predators and have a fighting chance at reaching adulthood. But instead, they were caught and immediately categorized as “waste.” They were doomed to die because protections do not exist for in-shore ecosystems in North Carolina in the way that they do for every other state on the East Coast.” — Lauren Tippett, photographer and marine biologist

A young person grips a saddled ostrich's feathers to maintain balance during a ride at an ostrich farm. The bird has visible patches of feather loss on their chest. Undisclosed location, Kajiado, Kenya, 2026. Mical Gia / We Animals

A crew member on a shrimp bottom trawler releases debris into the water from a net. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026

Lauren Tippett / We Animals

North Carolina is the only Atlantic or Gulf coast state that still allows large-scale bottom trawling in its estuaries, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

As bottom trawlers move within an ecosystem, they not only capture an exorbitant amount of bycatch, but they also scrape the bottom with heavy weights. This removes any habitat structure that existed before they bulldozed through, and it stirs up large plumes of sediment. This story element was difficult to capture from our boat, so I sent my drone up to the sky. It showed the sediment plumage better than I could have hoped… On our way back, we passed by several more bottom trawlers. It’s clear that this practice is very common in North Carolina’s estuaries.” – Lauren Tippett

North Carolina, U.S.A., has the second largest estuarine system in the country, with more than 2.2 million acres (nearly 1 million hectares) of inshore habitat, where millions of animals start their lives each year, but also where commercial shrimp trawlers scrape the sea floor, capturing juvenile animals before they can mature. North Carolina is the only Atlantic or Gulf coast state that still allows large-scale bottom trawling in its estuaries in 2026, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Trawling nets drag the bottom for hours, pulling up bycatch that is dumped onto the boats' sorting trays. Juvenile fishes are returned to the water dead or alive but unable to escape predation, leaving a trail of dead animals and churned-up sediment, which research shows can release trapped nutrients and contaminants into the water and reduce visibility enough to disorient marine life. North Carolina state fisheries data show trawlers catch tens to hundreds of millions of juvenile fish as bycatch each year, with shrimp trawls accounting for close to a third of all discards of southern flounder, an overfished species. State researchers point to trawl bycatch as a significant factor in the decline of several other North Carolina fish stocks.
North Carolina, U.S.A., has the second largest estuarine system in the country, with more than 2.2 million acres (nearly 1 million hectares) of inshore habitat, where millions of animals start their lives each year, but also where commercial shrimp trawlers scrape the sea floor, capturing juvenile animals before they can mature. North Carolina is the only Atlantic or Gulf coast state that still allows large-scale bottom trawling in its estuaries in 2026, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Trawling nets drag the bottom for hours, pulling up bycatch that is dumped onto the boats' sorting trays. Juvenile fishes are returned to the water dead or alive but unable to escape predation, leaving a trail of dead animals and churned-up sediment, which research shows can release trapped nutrients and contaminants into the water and reduce visibility enough to disorient marine life. North Carolina state fisheries data show trawlers catch tens to hundreds of millions of juvenile fish as bycatch each year, with shrimp trawls accounting for close to a third of all discards of southern flounder, an overfished species. State researchers point to trawl bycatch as a significant factor in the decline of several other North Carolina fish stocks.
North Carolina, U.S.A., has the second largest estuarine system in the country, with more than 2.2 million acres (nearly 1 million hectares) of inshore habitat, where millions of animals start their lives each year, but also where commercial shrimp trawlers scrape the sea floor, capturing juvenile animals before they can mature. North Carolina is the only Atlantic or Gulf coast state that still allows large-scale bottom trawling in its estuaries in 2026, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Trawling nets drag the bottom for hours, pulling up bycatch that is dumped onto the boats' sorting trays. Juvenile fishes are returned to the water dead or alive but unable to escape predation, leaving a trail of dead animals and churned-up sediment, which research shows can release trapped nutrients and contaminants into the water and reduce visibility enough to disorient marine life. North Carolina state fisheries data show trawlers catch tens to hundreds of millions of juvenile fish as bycatch each year, with shrimp trawls accounting for close to a third of all discards of southern flounder, an overfished species. State researchers point to trawl bycatch as a significant factor in the decline of several other North Carolina fish stocks.
North Carolina, U.S.A., has the second largest estuarine system in the country, with more than 2.2 million acres (nearly 1 million hectares) of inshore habitat, where millions of animals start their lives each year, but also where commercial shrimp trawlers scrape the sea floor, capturing juvenile animals before they can mature. North Carolina is the only Atlantic or Gulf coast state that still allows large-scale bottom trawling in its estuaries in 2026, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Trawling nets drag the bottom for hours, pulling up bycatch that is dumped onto the boats' sorting trays. Juvenile fishes are returned to the water dead or alive but unable to escape predation, leaving a trail of dead animals and churned-up sediment, which research shows can release trapped nutrients and contaminants into the water and reduce visibility enough to disorient marine life. North Carolina state fisheries data show trawlers catch tens to hundreds of millions of juvenile fish as bycatch each year, with shrimp trawls accounting for close to a third of all discards of southern flounder, an overfished species. State researchers point to trawl bycatch as a significant factor in the decline of several other North Carolina fish stocks.
The Gulf Tide, a shrimp bottom trawler from Alabama, operates in North Carolina estuarine waters, where trawling faces fewer restrictions than in Alabama's own inside waters. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026. Lauren Tippett / We Animals
The Gulf Tide, a shrimp bottom trawler from Alabama, operates in North Carolina estuarine waters, where trawling faces fewer restrictions than in Alabama's own inside waters. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026. Lauren Tippett / We Animals
North Carolina, U.S.A., has the second largest estuarine system in the country, with more than 2.2 million acres (nearly 1 million hectares) of inshore habitat, where millions of animals start their lives each year, but also where commercial shrimp trawlers scrape the sea floor, capturing juvenile animals before they can mature. North Carolina is the only Atlantic or Gulf coast state that still allows large-scale bottom trawling in its estuaries in 2026, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Trawling nets drag the bottom for hours, pulling up bycatch that is dumped onto the boats' sorting trays. Juvenile fishes are returned to the water dead or alive but unable to escape predation, leaving a trail of dead animals and churned-up sediment, which research shows can release trapped nutrients and contaminants into the water and reduce visibility enough to disorient marine life. North Carolina state fisheries data show trawlers catch tens to hundreds of millions of juvenile fish as bycatch each year, with shrimp trawls accounting for close to a third of all discards of southern flounder, an overfished species. State researchers point to trawl bycatch as a significant factor in the decline of several other North Carolina fish stocks.

North Carolina state fisheries data show trawlers catch tens to hundreds of millions of juvenile fish as bycatch each year, with shrimp trawls accounting for close to a third of all discards of southern flounder, an overfished species. State researchers point to trawl bycatch as a significant factor in the decline of several other North Carolina fish stocks.

“I want to emphasize that what we’re highlighting here isn’t illegal. This is truly a state problem, where the state legislature has not passed a ban on inshore trawling as every single other state on the East Coast has done. It’s important to understand the economic and ecological impact that inshore bottom trawling is having in our coastal estuaries.” – Lauren Tippett

A student rides a saddled male ostrich manoeuvred by three handlers in a fenced enclosure at an ostrich farm. Patches of bare skin are visible on the bird's chest and neck. Undisclosed location, Kajiado, Kenya, 2026. Mical Gia / We Animals

Three shrimp bottom trawlers operate in a vast estuary that serves as fish nursery habitat. Pamlico Sound, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA, 2026.

Lauren Tippett / We Animals

For Tippett, protecting North Carolina’s estuaries will require action from people across the state. She is urging North Carolinians to contact their representatives in support of House Bill 442 (HB442), which would ban inshore bottom trawling in the state, bringing it into line with the rest of the US East Coast’s ecological standards.

Learn more about HB442 and take action: ncwf.org/save-our-sounds

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