Our North Carolina sounds and estuaries are in dire need of your help. Every year, trawlers travel to North Carolina from other states where inshore trawling is prohibited, invading our waters with heavy chains that drag nets across a sea floor already stripped bare from years of the destructive practice. Using these nets yields large amounts of bycatch, unintentional catch that is killed and discarded in our sounds. Every pound of shrimp that is harvested yields four pounds of bycatch, juvenile fish that will never have the chance to spawn and reproduce. This greatly depletes the population of several different fisheries and damages the already fragile ecosystem, one that so many organisms, people, and communities rely on to survive. I urge you to use your position in the legislature to make a difference for our fisheries and put an end to inshore shrimp trawling. We must stop inshore shrimp trawling as soon as possible to prevent further, irreversible damage to one of North Carolina's most valuable resources. Thank you for considering this important issue. I look forward to seeing you take action.

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and constituent of North Carolina, deeply invested in the health and sustainability of North Carolina’s coastal environment. North Carolina remains the only state on the Eastern Seaboard that still permits inshore shrimp trawling. This practice is not only outdated but has been proven to be highly destructive to our marine ecosystems. The trawling nets used in this process cause significant bycatch, capturing and killing countless non-target species, including juvenile fish and crabs, which are crucial to the health of our coastal waters. Inshore shrimp trawling is responsible for the needless and wasteful death of hundreds of millions of juvenile fish in North Carolina annually. The Consequences: 1. Habitat Destruction: Inshore shrimp trawling disrupts and damages habitats essential for various marine species. 2. Declining Populations: Bycatch contributes to the decline of already pressured species, threatening biodiversity and the balance of our marine ecosystems. 3. Economic Impact: The long-term sustainability of our fisheries and the livelihoods they support are at risk. I fully support safe and responsible fishing practices that sustainably protect our marine resources. Banning inshore shrimp trawling is a necessary step toward achieving this balance. As your constituent, I urge you to ban inshore shrimp trawling in North Carolina. While the legislature is still in session and now is the time to act. Delaying this decision will only exacerbate the environmental damage posed by shrimp trawling and make recovery more difficult. I implore you to consider the long-term benefits of banning inshore shrimp trawling and to champion this cause in the legislature. Your leadership on this issue will benefit our natural resources and reflect the best interests of your constituents. Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue. I look forward to seeing meaningful action taken to protect North Carolina’s coastal waters.

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and constituent of North Carolina, deeply invested in the health and sustainability of North Carolina’s coastal environment. North Carolina remains the only state on the Eastern Seaboard that still permits inshore shrimp trawling. This practice is not only outdated but has been proven to be highly destructive to our marine ecosystems. The trawling nets used in this process cause significant bycatch, capturing and killing countless non-target species, including juvenile fish and crabs, which are crucial to the health of our coastal waters. Inshore shrimp trawling is responsible for the needless and wasteful death of hundreds of millions of juvenile fish in North Carolina annually. The Consequences: 1. Habitat Destruction: Inshore shrimp trawling disrupts and damages habitats essential for various marine species. 2. Declining Populations: Bycatch contributes to the decline of already pressured species, threatening biodiversity and the balance of our marine ecosystems. 3. Economic Impact: The long-term sustainability of our fisheries and the livelihoods they support are at risk. I fully support safe and responsible fishing practices that sustainably protect our marine resources. Banning inshore shrimp trawling is a necessary step toward achieving this balance. As your constituent, I urge you to ban inshore shrimp trawling in North Carolina. While the legislature is still in session and now is the time to act. Delaying this decision will only exacerbate the environmental damage posed by shrimp trawling and make recovery more difficult. I implore you to consider the long-term benefits of banning inshore shrimp trawling and to champion this cause in the legislature. Your leadership on this issue will benefit our natural resources and reflect the best interests of your constituents. Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue. I look forward to seeing meaningful action taken to protect North Carolina’s coastal waters.

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and constituent of North Carolina, deeply invested in the health and sustainability of North Carolina’s coastal environment. North Carolina remains the only state on the Eastern Seaboard that still permits inshore shrimp trawling. This practice is not only outdated but has been proven to be highly destructive to our marine ecosystems. The trawling nets used in this process cause significant bycatch, capturing and killing countless non-target species, including juvenile fish and crabs, which are crucial to the health of our coastal waters. Inshore shrimp trawling is responsible for the needless and wasteful death of hundreds of millions of juvenile fish in North Carolina annually. The Consequences: 1. Habitat Destruction: Inshore shrimp trawling disrupts and damages habitats essential for various marine species. 2. Declining Populations: Bycatch contributes to the decline of already pressured species, threatening biodiversity and the balance of our marine ecosystems. 3. Economic Impact: The long-term sustainability of our fisheries and the livelihoods they support are at risk. I fully support safe and responsible fishing practices that sustainably protect our marine resources. Banning inshore shrimp trawling is a necessary step toward achieving this balance. As your constituent, I urge you to ban inshore shrimp trawling in North Carolina. While the legislature is still in session and now is the time to act. Delaying this decision will only exacerbate the environmental damage posed by shrimp trawling and make recovery more difficult. I implore you to consider the long-term benefits of banning inshore shrimp trawling and to champion this cause in the legislature. Your leadership on this issue will benefit our natural resources and reflect the best interests of your constituents. Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue. I look forward to seeing meaningful action taken to protect North Carolina’s coastal waters.