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Article: Hard times washing over Gulf Coast shrimpers.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- February 5, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Jennifer Babson
KEY WEST, Fla. _ The generator is off to conserve fuel, a black-and-white television in the galley is the only entertainment and Captain Charles C. Potter still isn't sure how he's going to find $1,865 to pay his boat mortgage in two weeks.
''I'm a fisherman,'' he said. ``I'm 53 years old. There's nothing else I can do.''
Times are tough for those who trawl the waters off Florida in search of shrimp.
Prices are low, imports from Southeast Asia are often lower and family-owned fishing operations are barely holding on.
''I've been around the industry for more than 20 years, and I've never seen it as ...