"The Agnes Marie" was photographed in May of 2020 from Tybee Island, Georgia. 

The Agnes Marie is a shrimp boat stationed at the Lazaretto Creek Marina in Tybee Island, Georgia. It is pictured here in stunning black and white coming in from a day of shrimping in the Caliboque Sound. Plenty of birds and even a dolphin can be seen at the stern of the boat waiting for scrap fish to be dumped overboard. Out in front toward the bow of the boat a lighthouse can be seen on the far shore. It is the Cockspur Island lighthouse near Fort Pulaski.

Shrimping is an import part of our history and culture in Coastal Georgia. We do love our shrimp and seafood. However, it is an industry that has been hurt by cheaper imported seafood from countries such as China. It has also been hurt by the rising cost of fuel. The maintenance and upkeep of the ship, dock space, and seafood storage has also become very expensive. I was able to spend the day aboard this very shrimp boat several years ago and learn about the hard work and difficulties that this industry faces in order to remain profitable. For the men and women who work these boats on a daily basis, it is a way of life that they love. Their day begins before dawn and they are usually heading out into the sound or ocean at dawn before sunrise. They shrimp the sound and ocean for at least a half day and then the task of separating the shrimp by type and from the scrap fish and storing the shrimp begins. The boats are also cleaned and maintained after every day of shrimping.