Shrimpers Angry Over Katrina Contracts

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) -- A group of Mississippi shrimpers are angry that contracts to remove debris from Hurricane Katrina from coastal waters have gone to out of state boat owners. The group, Mississippi Gulf Coast Fishermen's Organization, is demanding either its 365 members get the U.S. Coast Guard debris removal contract or the cleanup be postponed to minimize damage to the coastal shrimp fishery. Shrimpers said the cleanup is using outside fishermen who are not familiar with local waters or conditions and is being timed to cause the maximum amount of damage to brown shrimp stock. Shrimp season generally starts in June, when the shrimp grow to a certain size, and extends to the end of April south of the Intercoastal Waterway. Shrimpers said the nets would be raking through the Mississippi Sound just at the time that juvenile shrimp are flushing out of coastal estuaries to grow and live in open waters. The U.S. Coast Guard has given the contract to a joint venture of the Matthews Marine in Pass Christian and Gulf Equipment Ventures in Theodore, Alabama. Officials with the companies declined to comment. The contract to clean marine debris covers area from a half-mile offshore to four miles out.