High prices and strong 

 demand for shrimp draw 

 fishermen away from home 



me a deer. But if a fellow from 

 Beaufort came over, he 

 wouldn't know where to find 

 him a deer. 



"Well, it's the same way up 

 there," Williams says. "We're in 

 their back yard. 



"North Carolina fishermen 

 are aggressive. We hear it all 

 around. It's what we do for a 

 living. We're hard workers. It's 

 a real competitive business. 

 When you're in competition, 

 you're going to go that extra 

 mile, and North Carolina 

 fishermen are willing to do 

 that," Williams says. 



The hard work pays off in 

 bigger catches, Kellum says. 

 And that can create animosity. 

 "From past experiences, I 

 think North Carolina fishermen 

 catch more than South 

 Carolina boats," he says. 



Because North Carolina 

 shrimpers have smaller boats, 



they are able to fish in shallow, 

 nearshore waters. They catch 

 the shrimp as the crustaceans 

 move from their inland nursery 

 grounds offshore to spawn in 

 deeper waters. 



South Carolina fishermen 

 believe the Tar Heels catch a 

 disproportionate number of 

 the shrimp before they get to 

 the deeper waters. 



Complaints fill the air waves. 

 "I hear them talk about it on 

 the radio. 'Those North 

 Carolina folks are down here 

 cutting us off,'" Kelium says. 



But Kellum has some ad- 

 vice for the disgruntled: Get 

 smaller boats so you can 

 compete with North Carolina 

 boats. 



Traveling fishermen also 

 must deal with the pressures 

 of being away from their 

 families for weeks, sometimes 

 months, at a time. 



Forest Williams 



"It's tough being away and 

 staying on a boat," Brooks 

 says. "I'd rather stay at home." 



Daniels' crew on the 

 "Venus" may be away from 

 home for as much as a month 

 at a time. They keep in touch 

 with their families in Wanchese 

 via a cellular phone on the 

 boat. And their wives may 

 drive or fly up for a visit every 

 now and then. 



Williams admits, "It's a hard 

 way to make a living." 



But his crew members 

 manage to get home as often 

 as possible— usually every 10 

 to 15 days, he says. 



Williams says he's heard the 

 wives of his crew members 

 say, "I'm glad he's gone. I was 

 getting tired of him." 



But the next day, the phone 

 is ringing. "When is he going 

 to be back in?" they ask. 



"It's a honeymoon all over 

 again when they come back 

 in," Williams says. 



Kellum says the months 

 away from home are wearing 

 on him, and he's considering 

 moving to South Carolina for 

 good. Oysters and clams are 

 getting scarce in Core Sound, 

 he says. And he figures he 

 can make enough money just 

 shrimping in South Carolina. 



But for Williams, moving is 

 not a choice. "I've got six kids 

 in school, and this is my 

 home," he says. 



