Shrimping season extended

BRUNSWICK - Shrimpers in Georgia will be allowed to keep fishing until further notice, the state announced Friday. <br> <br> Extending the season will give shrimpers a chance to recover from past poor harvests and lower prices for their catches, said Nancy Butler, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. <br> <br> ``During these hard economic times, this extension is crucial for those commercial shrimpers on the brink of financial failure,&#39;&#39; said Susan Shipman, director of the Coastal Resources Division of the DNR. <br> <br> The season was previously scheduled to close Tuesday, and no new cutoff date has been set. The extension applies to commercial and recreational fishers. <br> <br> Shrimpers say they&#39;ve been hit hard by the state&#39;s drought and by low prices forced by a flood of cheaper imported shrimp. <br> <br> Shrimping season has been extended every year since 1978, except for 1983, 1989 and 2000, when early winter freezes depleted the over-wintering white shrimp stocks, requiring immediate closure to preserve the population for future harvest, Butler said.