Lobster Boats Prepare to go to Sea

Who can resist getting up early on a summer’s day in Bar Harbor, Maine.  The screech of the sea gulls combines with the cool stillness of the bay as the homes and businesses prepare to open for the new day. Across the water lobster boats accept provisions and fisherman from land craft to begin their journeys into the deep.  It’s too early for the breakfast and lunch crowds to begin visiting the two level bistro on the boardwalk.

A Discarded Shrimper Languishes near an Active Shrimper

Tucked along the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean in Mayport, Florida, an industry of shrimp fishermen has survived for several centuries and before then by the Paleolithic Indians. But the useful life of shrimp boats eventually plays out and the one depicted here has lost its usefulness to its owners who now operate a brighter, newer boat seen at the dock in the background. This brave little Forgotten Shrimper who for decades kept its sailors safe on the seas and provided them with a livelihood now languishes in its own private graveyard.

Tarpon Springs Shrimpers docked after a hard day's work in the Gulf of Mexico

You can find hard working shrimper boats in port on weekend mornings. Across the inlet the tourist town of Tarpon Springs has many fine restaurants and gift shops that offer the same food and articles that you can buy around the Acropolis.

Mayport Shrimpers docked along the St. Johns River

Close to where the St John's River meets the Atlantic, a group of hard working fisherman still brave the elements daily to make their catch. You can go out and meet them in the early evening and buy pounds of fish and shrimp directly from their iced barrels.