Tag Archives: Fernandina Beach

Fernandina’s Shrimping Industry: Storied Past, Uncertain Future – A Look Back

Here we are in the birthplace of American shrimping industry. We greet visitors with a waterfront Shrimping Museum. Pink and blue larger-than-life statues of shrimp adorn our parks and street corners. Our major civic celebration is the annual Shrimp Fest, complete with a parade and people dressed like crustaceans. But is it all just nostalgia? Is our historic shrimping industry just a museum piece, or is it a vibrant business that will survive and thrive? At Dave Cook’s dock at the south end of Front Street, Roy Mc Henry, who was working on his 39-foot shrimper, Queen B, while his aging Golden Retriever, Sweetie, lounged in the cockpit. Capt. McKendree was not optimistic about the state of the local shrimp industry. >click to read< 09:22

F/V Catherine Lane: Wrecked shrimp boat breaking apart

The shrimp boat that wrecked June 9 near Cumberland Island is now breaking apart, littering the water and coastline. “I got contacted by Florida Fish and Wildlife to see if we could go out and take some pictures,” Cary Cosgrove said. “I thought we’d get out there and find a shrimp boat but we get out there and couldn’t find it,” That’s because in the ten days since the boat crashed, it had broken apart,,, “The hull is a couple hundred feet off the rocks,” Cosgrove said.  “The remnants from the rest of the boat were scattered all over the place.” Video, >click to read< 15:31