While we have made lots of advances in being able to grow seafood in ponds, some of us think seafood from the sea still tastes the best.
The trouble is that catching seafood from the sea has gotten very expensive. With diesel fuel near five dollars per gallon this past summer, some boats had to change the way that they operated.
One boat that I know ended up staying closer to the early summer shrimp grounds, and then having the shrimp trucked back to their market.
When the catches are small it does not make sense to run the boats. With prices under pressure from imported shrimp and fuel costs through the roof, it has been a challenge for our area shrimpers this year.
If you throw in a little bad weather and fluctuating demand from roadside customers who have stayed home because of high gas prices, you can start to imagine how hard it is to keep shrimping in these times.
it comes as no surprise that a few times this summer, fresh shrimp were unavailable. I wonder if this will perhaps open a window of opportunity for smaller shrimp boats that don’t have to catch as many to be profitable. It will be interesting to watch.
All I can say is that “Friends don’t let friends eat imported shrimp.” I would rather have fewer shrimp but better ones, so I will stick to local NC shrimp which make the best appetizer ever.
Our technological infirmity 