The Reason Rock Shrimp Were Almost Never Brought to Market

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That simple saying sums up the story of how a Florida boat builder-turned-fisherman came to introduce the world to rock shrimp. It’s difficult to imagine now, but back in the 1970s, shrimp trawlers hauling catch off the southeastern coast of the U.S. routinely dismissed a particular variety of shrimp as not worth the effort. In 1968, Thompson debuted his state-of-the-art fiberglass shrimp trawler, the R.C. Brent Jr., to little acclaim. Unfortunately, traditional shrimpers at the time weren’t ready to embrace Thompson’s fiberglass technology. With a growing family to support and boat sales on the wane, Thompson set out to prove the superiority of his fiberglass design — by going fishing. >click to read< 09:10

One Response to The Reason Rock Shrimp Were Almost Never Brought to Market

  1. Ricky Allen says:

    Back in the mid 80s on the way back to South Florida from Alabama. We found some slick good looking activity on the bottom 260 foot of water between Panama City and Apalachicola made a five minute try, and damn near field a 5 gallon bucket 21/25 count head on rock shrimp !! Really clean, very little by catch ! Found a buyer, loaded 3 St Augustine trawlers in just a few days ! I think they paid .55/60 cents ! Good sweet tasting shrimp !

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