A plan to keep Port Royal docks open to shrimpers in time for the coming season could be laid out by the end of this week after Port Royal officials offered local shrimping industry advocates their support Monday.

At a meeting between the shrimpers and Town Council members, Town Manager Van Willis said Port Royal will do everything it can to protect the docks and support the shrimpers who use them, including covering some of the costs. Mayor Sam Murray informally appointed three local seafood industry experts who will meet with Willis on Thursday to form a plan detailing what the shrimpers need and what the town can offer.

Shrimpers were concerned when Port Royal Seafood owner William Gay announced that he will leave the space he rents in the Port of Port Royal, likely before a new owner takes over the property after March 30. Shrimpers say they'll need a fuel and ice supplier at the docks before the season starts.

Gay has rented his facility from the S.C. State Ports Authority since 1994. The Ports Authority is in the process of selling its 51-acre property to a developer, with bids for purchase due at the end of March. A 2004 state law required the port be shut down by the end of 2006.

"The reality is our industry is in trouble, but preserving this place is so important to preserving the industry," said Craig Reaves, a commercial fisherman and owner of CJ's Seafood on St. Helena Island. Reaves will meet with Willis along with shrimper Mark Smith, a Port Royal native, and Amber Von Harten, fisheries specialist with the S.C. Sea Grant Extension Program, which educates on the use and conservation of coastal and ocean environments.

The four will discuss possibly creating a new business model for the local industry, bruised from rough seasons caused by stormy weather or low rainfall and from competition with imported product.

Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller said last week that Gay was in default of his lease in September and it expired in November. But the Ports Authority doesn't intend to have the seafood industry removed, he added.

Willis said the Ports Authority Board of Directors also has assured him it will help ensure the industry stays. Gay said last week he fears it will be removed for something more profitable, and he called together a meeting of industry and community leaders Friday to discuss protecting the docks.

Town Councilman Joe Lee said he thinks it's critical to keep the industry healthy during the property's transition -- if developers move in and see the docks full and thriving, it's unlikely they will remove the industry, he said. But if the town doesn't find a solution for the interim between Gay's departure and the sale of the property, then concern could be more legitimate.