FL S1916

Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Boat Races and Festival, which began in 1963 in Fernandina Beach under the guidance of Dee Dee Bartels and others.

Acknowledges Fernandina Beach as the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry, producing wild-caught shrimp for over a century from Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico waters.

Honors Wendell Herbert McCollough, born in 1914, as the only African-American shrimper to win the Fernandina Beach races, achieving victory in 1969 on Joe Tringali's boat, the Ebb Tide.

Notes that shrimp boat races continued until 1974 when fuel costs became prohibitive, and were renamed the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Boat Races and Festival in the 1970s.

Recognizes shrimpers' ongoing contributions to Florida's economy, employment, and natural resources while working to protect sea turtles and marine life.