An upside to Hurricane Matthew: Bigger shrimp being caught

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Hurricane Matthew flooded roads and homes and tore branches from trees, but there has been one upside to the storm: bigger shrimp.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources biologist Jeff Brunson tells The Post and Courier of Charleston (http://bit.ly/2eFo4GL ) that in some places along the coast, larger shrimp have moved from estuaries to offshore waters where they’re being caught by commercial shrimpers.

He says the storm lowered the salt levels of water in the estuaries and high tides from the storm may have also pushed shrimp seaward.

Brunson says there was a similar improvement in the catch a year ago after what’s been termed a 1,000-year storm inundated the state, swelling rivers and estuaries. In that storm as much as 2 feet of rain fell in some areas.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com