Tag Archives: commercial shrimper

Jobi Allemand says being a trawler isn’t for everyone, but he loves what he does

Allemand is a local commercial shrimper who has been on the water his whole life. “Being a commercial shrimper is a job I take pride in and truly love,” he said. “To make it as a trawler, you have to put in your time and work for what you catch,” Allemand said. “You can’t expect to go out and load the board the first day. Sometimes, it will take a few days just to find something to work on. There were times where things were breaking and you’re not making money, and it seemed easy to throw in the towel, but if you want to make it as a trawler, you have to put your head down and get back at it harder because if not, it will try to tear you down. For all of my successes, I owe a lot to my Dad and thank him for teaching me the in’s and out’s of being a commercial fisherman.” >click to read< 18:55

“We felt safer on the boat” – Families on Bayou Grand Caillou left homeless after Hurricane Ida

Ida’s intense winds pushed the home mother-to-be Mauldin shared with her boyfriend and his family from its 4-foot concrete pillars onto the ground. The foundation broken and metal roof peeled away, the house appeared to be a complete loss. “Hopefully we can rebuild and start all over,” Verdin said. “I’ve been here forever. This is the first storm for us as homeowners that was this bad.” The family of six rode out the storm in a shrimp boat. Verdin’s husband, Manson Falgout Sr., has been a commercial shrimper for 30 years and captain of the F/V My Dad Whitney for at least a decade. “We felt safer on the boat,” Verdin said. “It’s all iron, and if the water rises, it floats. Thankfully we didn’t stay home. We lost our home.” Photo’s,  >click to read< 11:14

Longtime, devoted Galveston shrimper Joseph “Captain Joe,” Grillo dies

Joseph Anthony Grillo, a commercial shrimper for more than 50 years who fought for legislation to protect the island industry, died on Jan. 1 at his home. He was 89. Grillo, affectionately known as “Captain Joe,” was born Jan.10, 1931, in Apalachicola, Florida. He moved to Galveston with his family in 1940. Grillo was a loving family man, a hard-working commercial shrimper and devoted Roman Catholic, his family and friends say. Grillo purchased his shrimp boat, which he named Santa Maria, in 1952 and he and his wife operated it until they sold the boat at their retirement in 2003 to the Galveston Historical Foundation, which made it a part of its Texas Seaport Museum on Harborside Drive. >click to read< 09:55