June 24, 2025 — A bill with an amendment that’s targeting the shrimping industry has passed the senate. Fishing communities continue to hold their breath and feel that if this bill passes, it will be devastating to their livelihood.
“Everything I’ve worked for my entire life would be erased in a week,” said fisherman John Silver.
“I’ve been a commercial fisherman for about 35 years. I started out working at fish houses, and up to owning my own boat,” said fisherman Dewey Hemilright.
For John Silver, Dewey Hemilright and thousands of other fisherman, being out on the water isn’t just their job, it defines them.
“For everybody that does this, they’ve built their entire lives around it. It makes them who they are. So this passes, who are we then,” said Silver.