Trawlers catch an "unheard of" amount of shrimp off North Carolina coast

COROLLA, Nc. (WSET) -- Corolla, North Carolina, is a hot spot from Trawlers to gather to catch winter shrimp.

Trawlers have come in as close as three miles to the shore sometimes hauling in as much as 20,000 pounds of shrimp.

According to the Virginia Pilot, last week, the "Capt. Ralph" caught 30,000 pounds!

This is the most amount of shrimp ever caught by one crew according to Ashley O'Neal, the Manager of O'Neal's Sea Harvest.

In past years a 12,000 pound haul was considered a good one. Now the numbers are spiking.

“This 30,000-pound stuff is unheard of,” O’Neal said. “We are seeing a lot of shrimp.”

Americans are eating shrimp at a rate of 4.4 pounds per person per year according to NOAA Fisheries, but over 90 percent of the shrimp consumed in the United States is shipped in from foreign markets and raised on farms.

Wild white shrimp live short lives, usually less than two years, which is why they are considered an annual crop.

Trawlers catch three different species of shrimp of the coast of North Carolina.

Pink shrimp are usually harvested in the spring, brown shrimp in the summer, and green-tail or white in the fall/winter months.