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As with everything else, the price of fuel threatens finally end the domestic shrimping industry, as we know it. In the past owners would refurbish and paint their boats for the next season. This once proud fleet is now falling apart. Gaps appear in the hulls and rust streaks get worse each year. Local fish houses betray the community by buying foreign shrimp at very low prices and pass them off as domestic shrimp. Some mix the foreign shrimp with the fresh caught wild shrimp. I have eaten both: the domestic wild shrimp has a naturally delicious flavor which requires no heavy spices when cooked and no dipping sauces when served chilled as opposed to the flavorless rubbery shrimp imported from third world countries.

Last year, 2007, there were 11 boats in the Georgetown fleet. Since then, after many years of shrimping, five boat owners had to retire due to the plight of the industry. Some boats lay rotting on the shore across the river while shrimp abound in the nearby waters. Today it is not uncommon for Bobby Goings to forego his share of shrimp revenues in order to pay his crew and maintain the boat.

These last photos are about the passing of a good and loyal friend. Robert was a crewmember who lived on the Miss Nichole. When the crew arrived to go shrimping, they could not wake Robert. Bobby rushed him to the hospital where he died from an embolism. I felt privileged to be asked by his family to photograph his funeral and burial at sea. Overwrought, I could not think about proper camera settings and I had to steel myself to capture the moment when Bobby tossed the wreaths into the water. It was a very sad day. Robert and I had become friends and we were always happy to see each other.

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