Parasite depletes wild shrimp haul off southeast Atlantic coast

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The size of wild shrimp hauls off the southern Atlantic coast have plunged in recent months as a parasite has made it harder for the creatures to breathe, according to state wildlife officials in Georgia and South Carolina. Experts said they believe black gill disease, caused by a tiny parasite, contributed to a die-off of white shrimp between August and October, typically the prime catch season. "It's like the shrimp are smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, and now they're having to go run a marathon," said Mel Bell, director of South Carolina's Office of Fisheries Management. "Shrimpers are reporting to us that they dump the bag on the deck, and the shrimp are just dead." South Carolina shrimpers hauled in 44,000 pounds of shrimp in September, less than 6 percent of the September, 2012 catch of more than 750,000 pounds, Bell said.

via Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/parasite-depletes-wild-shrimp-haul-off-southeast-atlantic-151424923.html