North Carolina State Library 



gal g i N - c - 



Doc. 



University of North Carolina 

 Sea Grant Program 



NEWSLETTER 



OCTOBER. 1974 



1235 Burlington Laboratories 

 NCSU, Raleigh, N. C. 27607 Phone: ( 919) 7S7-2U5U 



Capt. Moon Tillett sur- 

 veys the catch as the nets 

 come in. 



A 



hard year 

 for 



shrimpers 



Capt. Moon Tillett stepped out of his white rubber boots and 

 planted his feet in the same spot they've stood for a good part of the 

 past 10 years. From his post behind the wheel of the Capt. John 

 Duke, Capt. Tillett once again studied the horizon he's known since 

 he was just a toddler. 



It was August — hot, humid and hazy. The John Duke, Capt. 

 Tillett's handsome shrimp boat, plowed through the waters of Far 

 Creek, leaving the fishing village of Engelhard for the wide, open 

 spaces of the Pamlico Sound. The skipper's deep-set eyes danced 

 across the waters beyond. But from the look on his face, you could 

 tell he was thinking of one thing — hauling in some shrimp. For 

 North Carolina's commercial fishermen, shrimp is the crop that pads 

 their pocketbooks. 



Perhaps more this year than last, Capt. Moon had his mind on his 

 work. "This year is the worst market we ever had. We're getting 

 1948 prices," he said as the breakers rocked his boat. "Our income is 

 cut in half from last year and our expense is doubled." 



The price of everything a shrimper needs — diesel fuel, oil, ice and 

 groceries — is up since last year, Capt. Tillett said in a mid-August 

 (See "Fishermen ," Page 5) 



