AP PhotoDelcambre, La. - A lot of Louisiana shrimpers getting ready to call it a wrap on their inshore shrimp season say they're hurting.
They haven't come back with the kind of catches they want. Many of them blame long-term effects of BP's oil spill.
"In my 55 years, that's the worst two years I've seen," says shrimper Jimmie Dupre.
Some ecologists say pointing fingers at BP alone is not fair.
"Conclusively saying this year is bad because of the oil spill is a challenge, because fisheries go up and down from year to year for lots of reasons," says the University of Houston's Steve Pennings.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the 2012 spring inshore shrimp season will close July 9.
The end of shrimping season applies to portions of the Lake Pontchartrain basin and to all of the Mississippi river, Barataria and Mermentau river basins.
