The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Coastal Resources Division (CRD) announces that the 2025 commercial and recreational food shrimp season will open in state waters at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

This opening applies to Georgia’s territorial waters extending from the shoreline to three nautical miles offshore. The decision to open the season follows careful monitoring of shrimp populations and environmental conditions to ensure sustainable harvesting.

“CRD has been gathering data about our state shrimp fishery year-round since 1976,” said Tyler Jones, a CRD spokesman. “Our trawl survey samples creeks, sounds, and beaches, and measures the abundance, size, and reproductive stage of shrimp. May’s assessment found it took about 17 shrimp to make one pound, which means the shrimp are larger than the 10-year average of 19 shrimp. This is a good sign and indicates a sustainable and healthy fishery.”

Key Information:

• Season Opening: 8 a.m., Tuesday, June 10, 2025
• Applicable Waters: Georgia’s state waters (shoreline to three nautical miles offshore). Commercial trawling for food shrimp may only be conducted in the waters seaward of the sound boundary.
• Licensing: Commercial shrimpers must possess a valid Georgia commercial fishing license with a shrimp endorsement, or a trawler crew license. Information on commercial fishing licenses is available at CoastalGaDNR.org/CommercialFishing. Recreational harvesters are required to have a Georgia fishing license with a free Saltwater Information Program (SIP) permit.
• Regulations: All participants must adhere to Georgia’s shrimping regulations, including gear restrictions, catch limits, and commercial reporting requirements. Commercial and recreational shrimping regulations can be found at CoastalGaDNR.org/ShrimpRegs.

Georgia commercial and recreational food shrimp season is opened by an administrative order by the Commissioner of Natural Resources, Walter Rabon. It is opened after the Shrimp Advisory Panel, an independent body of industry professionals, recreational shrimpers, seafood dealers, and non-DNR scientists, reviews CRD data and recommends an opening date to the Commissioner. The season closes by law each year on Dec. 31, but can be extended by the Commissioner if conditions are favorable.

CRD emphasizes the importance of responsible harvesting practices to maintain the health of shrimp populations and the broader marine ecosystem. Harvesters are encouraged to familiarize themselves with current regulations and to report any unusual observations to the DNR’s Ranger Hotline at 800-241-4113.

In 2024, Georgia issued 177 commercial shrimping licenses, down from 210 in 2023. In 2023, shrimpers reported landing about 2.4 million pounds of shrimp with a dockside value of $8.8 million.

For more information on shrimping regulations and licensing, and best practices, please visit CoastalGaDNR.org/ShrimpRegs.