South Carolina’s recreational shrimp baiting season opened at noon on Friday, Sept. 11, giving Lowcountry shrimpers a 59-day window that runs through noon on Monday, Nov. 9. State law fixes the opening at noon on the last Friday on or before Sept. 15 each year, and the length of the season does not shift with weather or shrimp movement in a given year.
The fishery targets white shrimp, one of the three penaeid species that live along the Carolina coast alongside brown shrimp and pink shrimp. Baiting concentrates shrimp near submerged bait balls set beside marked poles so shrimpers can throw cast nets over the school and lift the catch on the return.
Season rules cap each licensee at 10 poles. Poles cannot sit more than 100 yards apart within a single set, must stay at least 25 yards from any other shrimper’s poles, and cannot be placed within 50 yards of a public dock, boat ramp, or landing. Each pole has to carry a numbered tag issued with the license along with reflective tape, and unattended sets can be confiscated.
The daily limit is 48 quarts of whole shrimp, or 29 quarts with the heads removed, for each boat or set of poles per day. A boat operator with a valid license may bring one unlicensed resident to help run the boat, throw the net, and handle the catch.
The license itself is separate from a general saltwater fishing license. Resident shrimp baiting licenses run $25, while nonresident licenses run $500, and both come with the numbered pole tags. Private-dock owners who hold a valid license can bait and cast from their own dock without setting any poles in the water, as long as the department-issued tag is displayed on the dock.
Salt trends along the Charleston coast point to strong bait volume in the creeks heading into the season, with white shrimp still stacked in the estuaries. A wet late summer can push white shrimp to the ocean early and thin out inshore water before the poles go in, while a warm, dry stretch keeps them in the creeks past the opener. The season runs on the calendar either way, and the 59 days end at noon Nov. 9 regardless of how the shrimp move.