ENC shrimper thinking of new ways to get his product to customers amid inflation

NEW BERN, Craven County — Inflation is making it harder for fisherman to turn a profit. Now, it’s fueling them to make decision on how they sell their catch.

One local boat captain has found a way he could keep more money in local fishermen’s wallets.

Frankie Eubanks is a shrimp boat captain and he said it used to cost him $1,500 to fill up his boat, now it’s twice that.

To battle the rise in prices, he wants to take his product straight to customers.

“You’re working and hour, hour-and-a-half before sunrise, and you’re not done until usually 10 o’clock at night,“ Eubanks said.

It’s all in a day's work for Eubanks.

“It’s a love, it’s a passion,” he said.

It’s a passion and a job that comes at a cost for Eubanks.

“Our insurance has tripled, fuel costs have tripled, just the basic supplies of food has tripled,“ he said.

It’s the rising prices that fueled an idea to keep more money in local fishermen’s pockets, and bring fresher seafood to his customers.

“We want to be able to take that same product from where we catch it directly to the consumer, cuts out a lot of handling of it and also, they are able to get a better price for the product and we can get a little higher price for ours,” Eubanks said.

He said for fishermen like him, it’d mean more time on the dock.

“We would come in, then the fish house takes it, they have their own contacts, they send it out to supermarkets,” he said. “ But, with this, you’d have to handle the shrimp, more ice and more time.”

But, it’s work that’s worth it, not just for him, but his customers.

“Why not just take it fresh from where we catch it? It’s a win-win,” he said.

He said to do this, you need a fishing license, local business license, be approved by the health department and have a dealer's license.

He said he is still working to secure an area where he could sell his product.