MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)- The shrimping scene on Shem Creek looks like something out of a movie. But behind the scenes, shrimping is not so cinematic. It’s hard work.

“We get here in the morning,” said Cindy Tarvin, the owner of Tarvin Seafood. “Our first order of business is to get restaurant orders ready.”

Tarvin Seafood supplies shrimp to over 75 buyers in Charleston.

In 12 years of business, Cindy and her son Kola Tarvin have seen the tides shift a lot in the industry, but not quite like they have the last two years — especially when it comes to fuel prices.

“Couple boats just this year have left the creek,” Kola Tarvin said.

Cindy Tarvin says fuel prices have skyrocketed. “It was almost five dollars at the end of last season, per gallon,” Tarvin said.

And it has a ripple effect on their business.

She says they’re spending hundreds of more dollars to fill up their shrimp boats, than in years past.

“If you’re going to lose money because of fuel costs shrimping, you’re going to stay in a lot more than if you can afford to spend the money looking for shrimp,” she explained.

A docked shrimp boat means fewer catches — fewer catches, means there aren’t as many local shrimp to sell.

“Then we have to go to other places that are up and down the east coast that may be catching shrimp and purchase shrimp from them,” Kola Tarvin said.

However, despite the frustrations at the gas pump, the Tarvins are staying positive.

Kola Tarvin said, “It has its ups and downs but all we can hope for is one of the best years we’ve ever had.”

Tarvin says they have seen a slight decrease in fuel prices over the last month, and she hopes it will keep going down before the official start of the shrimping season in July.