Florida shrimpers race to get battered fleet back to sea

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The seafood industry in southwest Florida is racing against time and the elements to save what’s left of both a major shrimping fleet and a lifestyle battered by Hurricane Ian. The ferocious wind and powerful storm surge from Ian threw a couple dozen shrimp boats atop wharves and homes along a harbor at Fort Myers Beach, and such vessels don’t fare well out of the water. So workers are trying to get boats back in the water and resume fishing with the few that are left. Fleet manager Jesse Clapham says the industry already operates on tight profit margins and needs help.