Posted on Thu, May. 02, 2002            
   
Shrimpers hope for a break
By Kelly M. Burch
The Sun News

With two bad years of shrimping behind them, many area fishermen could be looking at another season of below-average catches and lower prices for their product. Drought, a hard winter freeze and increasing competition have combined to threaten the local shrimping industry this year, prompting many longtime shrimpers to get out of the business altogether.

Last year, the number of licensed shrimp trawlers in South Carolina dropped to the lowest level in 30 years, said Larry DeLancey, who studies shrimp and crabs for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. DeLancey said the hard winter in 2001 that killed the breeder crop, or roe shrimp, and a flood of shrimp imported from other countries caused many shrimpers to leave the business last year. Many were forced to sell their boats and return to "the hill," as the fishermen call dry land. "A lot of them had to get emergency loans," DeLancey said. "Guys who were in it forever had to get out because the crop was devastated. It's a hard way to earn a living. I hope this year turns out better, but we're guessing."

Although the official season for shrimping in state waters will not open until later this month, many readied their trawlers this week for trips three miles offshore. The exact start date will depend on water temperature and the spawning of the white shrimp. Federal waters were closed last year from March until mid-June to protect the few roe shrimp that weren't killed by the freeze. It was the first time in nearly a decade that had happened. Normally, fishing in federal waters is allowed throughout the year.

The continuing drought has also brought hardship. The juvenile shrimp use the brackish waters in the bays to grow. However, the lack of rain has caused the bays to become more salty, so the young white shrimp don't grow as fast. Lack of rain will also cause the juvenile shrimp to move farther upriver, where the shrimp trawlers cannot go. "All these years, I've always prayed: `Let me have one dry year, so we don't have all these shrimp on top of us,"' said Chuck Woodruff, a commercial fisherman and owner of the Georgetown Crab Company. "But right now, the water in Winyah Bay is extremely salty. Everything that should be in the ocean right now is in the bay. Everything that should be in the bay is way up river."

Glennie Tarbox, who owns Independent Seafood in Georgetown, says he thinks the shrimp caught in local waters will be plentiful this year. But a glut of farm-raised shrimp from China and Ecuador are still driving down prices for suppliers. Tarbox said he has owned Independent Seafood for 43 years. His father owned it for 20 years before him. He sees the shrimpers as being a "tough bunch" who will bounce back from recent bad luck. "They'll hang in there," he said. "They're like farmers. They have their good years and bad years."

Randy Allen of Georgetown, who used to captain the Virginia Lynn, a commercial shrimp trawler, quit shrimping about 5 years ago to be closer to his family. "You have to get up at 2:30 in the morning and if you drag until quitting time, that's 9 o'clock. I don't have a thing in the world against shrimping. I'd go back in a minute," he said. "You just have to work and take the money that they give you for your shrimp. I don't know who's making the money, but it's not the boys who are catching the shrimp."

DeLancey said local waterways are being monitored closely before the opening of shrimp season. Until the breeder crop spawns, shrimpers are limited in what they can catch. Last year, the regular season did not open until June 25. "It varies from year to year," he said. "Last year, due to the cold weather, there were very low numbers of white shrimp. When the true season starts is sort of up in the air right now, but we have an idea it will be in another month."

In Georgetown County, during the regular season, the shrimpers cannot get within a quarter-mile of shore. In Horry County, they are limited to a half-mile off shore. The roe shrimp typically spawn in the ocean during May and early June, depending on the water temperature. The post-larval, or juvenile, shrimp then move closer inland, boosted by the tide, to the tidal creeks. They use the tidal creeks as a nursery, then move back toward the ocean. The shrimp that do not die or are not caught by trawlers become roe shrimp for next year.

"We'll be following the roe shrimp," DeLancey said. "You can look at their backs. They will get real dark when they're close to spawning."

Normal rainfall is needed to encourage the movement and growth of the juvenile shrimp. The rain also washes important nutrients into the tidal creeks. Woodruff said that, if he cannot get local shrimp, he will travel up and down the coast, seeking a supply for his retail business. That will make a difference in what his customers pay for shrimp. Woodruff said he is not continuing his retail business past August. "I don't know how the commercial shrimpers are going to make it," he said. "You have all these imported shrimp that they have to fight against. "I used to love going out there on that water. We had plenty of shrimp. But it's nothing like that now. These shrimpers around here have just about starved to death."

Contact KELLY M. BURCH at kburch@thesunnews.com or 626-0324.