Lake Hartwell

Gulf Coast Boating

Captains Dodging Hit After Hit

"BILOXI — After Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi's charter boat captains said the third year - 2008 - would be the telling season about their industry's recovery.

That was before fuel prices shot up, the economy tanked and fishing restrictions tightened on one of their prized species.

"We are still reeling ... we're on our heels," said Capt. Jay Trochesset of the Silver Dollar. "We took a standing eight count from Katrina, and it seems like we've been ... no we have been dodging punches ever since."

The charter industry's future is just as uncertain today as it was in the months after the storm's devastating attack on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005.

Prior to Katrina, the Mississippi Charter Boat Association had 100 members; now it's less than half.

"We've got 40 full-time members now, but I don't know how long we'll have that many," said association president Capt. Tom Becker of the Skipper. "Right now, the boat that was in the slip next to mine has not run a trip all year and is now out of the water. It might be for sale." READ MORE: www.ClarionLedger.com

I had to share this news story to help get the word out. Get the news from a different perspective here.

Scubadoggy aka Jeff Ferris