Shrimp Fleet Hopeful For Larger Catches Next Year as Slow South Carolina Season Comes to an End

As the 2019 shrimping season comes to an end, shrimpers on Shem Creek are still scratching their heads. As they pull up their nets until April, they are speculating what may have caused the shortage of shrimp in the area this year.

“It could have been good, but it has not been a very good season,” said Cindy Tarvin, owner of Tarvin Seafood Inc. on Shem Creek. Tarvin owns two shrimp boats, Miss Paula and Carolina Breeze.

Tarvin suspected abnormally warmer water temperatures had an affect on the shrimp spawning and growth rates. Tarvin recalled a time when shrimp were so abundant it wasn’t unheard of for boats to reel in 1,000 pounds a day. Now, she says, on a good day boats are catching roughly 300 pounds. According to captains on the creek, this year’s daily average was about half that number.

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