Shrimpers fear oil spill will effect business

Image by Flickr user OneEighteen

Although there have been no signs that the BP's oil spill has reached the East Coast, the threat of it reaching South Carolina has local shrimpers on edge.

An unusually cold winter delayed the start of the shrimping season, and now, the threat of oil could potentially close down popular fishing grounds all along the coast. The result will be a loss in thousands and thousands of dollars for local shrimpers. With about one-third of the fishing grounds in the Gulf closed, local shrimpers also have to worry about boats from that area moving into Carolina waters to compete for an already limited resource.

There is a bit of light at the end of the shrimping tunnel however. Shrimp prices are up because of the limited supply and will most likely continue to rise if the oil spill closes more fishing grounds in the Gulf.

Hop over to the article in The Post and Courier to read more.

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