Headlamps sweep the water and grass around the feet of shrimpers making their way out in Tierra Verde. Traps at the ready, the shrimpers anticipated a run of pink shrimp.
TIERRA VERDE
Standing in the darkness along the shore of Tampa Bay, our leader, Peter Clark, went through a last-minute equipment check.
"Make sure your trap is working," he said. "Don't forget your bucket."
I tested the hinged door on my trap. Check.
I tugged on the 5-gallon bucket tied to my belt loop. Secure.
"Headlamps," he said. "Make sure they have fresh batteries. The brighter the light, the easier it is to see the shrimp."
About a dozen people had gathered at the edge of the grass beds on this full moon in May hoping to intercept the herds of pink shrimp headed offshore to spawn.
These tasty crustaceans spend the early part of their lives in the estuary, burrowing in the sea grass beds by day as they hide from predators such as snook, trout and redfish.
But come spring, on a new or full moon in May and sometimes June, they flee en masse to deep water.
"The trick is to be here before they head offshore," said Clark, executive director of Tampa Bay Watch, one of the region's leading environmental groups. "If you hit it right, they are pretty easy pickings."
|
