Tag Archives: shrimp industry
Biloxi Blessing of the Fleet: A Coast tradition
It’s time for Biloxi’s Blessing of the Fleet, a yearly Coast tradition that dates back to 1929. This year, it’s happening Sunday, July 7. Each year before shrimp boats journey into the Gulf, they are blessed in the waters between East Biloxi and Deer Island. The ceremonial blessing, given by a local Catholic priest, marks the official beginning of shrimping season. During the event, an evergreen wreath is dropped into the Sound in the memory of those shrimpers who have died at sea. The event once only blessed working boats, but now recreational boats are welcome to be blessed, as well. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:29
Fisherman remembered as ‘hero’ for saving deckhand after shrimp boat capsizes in Mobile Bay
Boat captain and shrimper, Mike Bishop, was killed when a waterspout Saturday flipped over his boat, trapping him inside. His deckhand Mark Henderson survived the horror after floating in the water for seven hours. Bishop tried to save Henderson before several others pulled together. Now, he’s being called a hero…and he’s not the only one. Mike’s son Brandon Bishop says this was a team effort from many heroes. “The shrimping community is tight and everybody comes together,” Brandon said. “Especially in these hard times like this. And shrimping is not a job. It’s a way of life and my dad loved it.” “When I went and spoke to Mark his deckhand this morning in the hospital he was still pretty shaken up,” Brandon said. “But he said that my dad gave him a lifejacket and told him to go out back. They were hit by the waterspout, and my dad’s a hero, he saved someone’s life….” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:27
Fewer shrimpers are hitting the water in North Carolina
You remember what Forrest Gump says after he becomes a shrimp boat captain: “Shrimping tough! “Well, that’s certainly true in North Carolina, where shrimp is the second-most commercially harvested seafood. The total dockside value of shrimp in the state in 2022, what seafood dealers pay before it gets sold wholesale, was about $10 million. That’s down from about $30 million in the 1980s and 1990s. The slip in value has led to a decline in the number of licensed shrimpers hitting the water, to the lowest on record in 2022. Reporter Johanna Still looked into what’s behind it all. more, >>listen or read<< 10:55
New England’s decades-old shrimp fishery, a victim of climate change, to remain closed indefinitely
New England’s long-shuttered shrimp business, which fell victim to warming waters, will remain in a fishing moratorium indefinitely, fishery regulators ruled on Friday. The industry has been in a moratorium since 2013 in large part because environmental conditions off New England are unfavorable for the cold water-loving shrimp. That moratorium will remain in effect with no firm end date, a board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Friday. The board stopped short of calling the move a permanent moratorium because it included a provision to continue monitoring the shrimp population and consider reopening the fishery if the crustaceans approach a healthy level. Some U.S. fishermen have advocated trying to save New England’s shrimp fishery with new management approaches. Glen Libby, a former shrimp trawler, said regulators need to gather more data before taking drastic measures to close a historic fishery. more, >>click to read<< 14:20
Locals want more rules for seafood imports
Only about 10% of seafood consumed in America is domestic. That’s crippling the Louisiana seafood industry. “For the last two years it’s just about ruined the industry,” Louisiana fisherman Pete Gerica said. In his 50 years on the water, Gerica has never seen it this bad. “There’s just so much you can take,” Gerica said. “Fuel prices being $4.00 a gallon. The cost of everything you buy, it’s just you can’t stay in business if you keep on spending money and you ain’t making none.” Monday, Congressman Garret Graves and Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser testified before the Louisiana Seafood Task Force in Baton Rouge. more, video, >>click to read<< 12:40
Community rallies for NC shrimper after boat fire
A local shrimper in Beaufort lost everything in a boat fire last weekend. Now, the community is rallying behind him to help get him back on the water. The F/V Lady Logan was owned by Jerry Kellum for the last eight years. “When I started shrimping, I played in the creek when I was about 6 years old and I loved it,” said Jerry. He’s carried on the shrimping tradition of his family for over 50 years. Then, last Friday, his most prized possession and way of income was destroyed. “I got in about 10:30 from shrimping on the straits, and I left and the boat was fine. They call me about three o’clock, it was on fire and that was it from there,” said Kellum. >>click to read<< 11:47
Imported shrimp eaten in U.S. may not be safe – U.S. Rep. Castor wants to do something about it
With inventories of shrimp sitting at docks throughout the Gulf Coast due to an abundance of imported seafood, the shrimp industry and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida want to increase the purchase of domestic shrimp in the United States and provide more federal funding to regulate imported shrimp for consumers. John Williams is the executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents members of the shrimp industry from Texas through North Carolina. He said a lot of his members that are suffering right now. Castor’s bill, the Laws Ensuring Safe Shrimp Act (LESS Act) would address that issue by vastly increasing funding for the FDA to do inspections of foreign produced shrimp. >click to read< 16:07
EDITORIAL: Commercial fishing avoids being gaffed one more time
In August of 2020, almost three years before the date of the circuit court decision, a citizen’s lawsuit was filed against local shrimp trawl operators who regularly trawl for shrimp in Pamlico Sound. The plaintiffs argued that shrimp trawlers are violating the Clean Water Act by engaging in two type of unpermitted activity, “throwing bycatch (untargeted fish) overboard and disturbing sediment with their trawl net.” Named as defendants were local trawl owners who fortunately, with the help of outside support, were able to withstand the cost and time to defend themselves and by extension, the commercial fishing industry, during the three-year path of the lawsuit. >click to read< 08:15
What you should know about The Shrimpocalypse, the wipeout of a time-honored US industry
On the inviting, teal-colored water in the shipping channels off the coast of southern Louisiana, Phillip “Rooster” Dyson pilots his bright red shrimp boat named Papa’s Shadow through a landscape he no longer recognizes. His practiced gaze sweeps over the water, but very little remains of the small fishing community of Cameron, where he has lived all his 40 years. The rickety wooden social clubs, bars, homes, and colorful shrimping boats are gone, most of it replaced by giant liquid natural gas terminals, and many more are planned for Louisiana’s fragile coast. “It costs $400 just to take the boat out,” he said in his strong Southern Creole accent, adding that July can often be a slow month for shrimp. One of his most recent catches in mid-July brought in a measly $200, to be shared between himself and the two men that work on his boat. Dyson has eight kids, while his employees also have families. Photo gallery, >click to read< 11:47
Federal Fisheries disaster declared for Louisiana over 2020 hurricanes – Mississippi also sees disaster declaration
The federal government has announced its approval of a disaster declaration over damage to Louisiana fisheries due to three 2020 hurricanes, opening the door to federal aid for commercial fishers. Separately, Mississippi fisheries were issued another disaster declaration over the unprecedented 2019 Bonnet Carre Spillway openings in Louisiana. The governor noted the affected parishes were home to nearly 2,500 commercial fishers and vessels combined along with more than 100 wholesale dealers and a similar number of charter captains. The storm led to damaged docks and boating facilities, lost gear and vessels, lost housing and loss of stored seafood, Edwards said. >click to read< 13:14
Louisiana: Lawmakers taking action to protect state’s seafood industry
Fishermen in Louisiana are suffering from imports and they’re worried about the future of the seafood industry in the state. It’s why lawmakers are putting tougher restrictions on imports to help struggling shrimpers. Fishermen say they are at risk of losing their livelihoods due to inflation and the abundance of imported seafood. It’s why shrimpers stood on the capitol steps urging lawmakers to do something. Louisiana Shrimp Association President Acy Cooper has been a fisherman in Louisiana for 45 years. He said he hopes he is able to keep it alive so that his grandkids can carry on the legacy. >click to read< 09:12
Shrimp season in Mississippi to open on May 22
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) has set the opening date for the 2023-2024 shrimp season in state territorial waters for Monday, May 22 at 6 a.m. All regulations of the MDMR will be in full force and effect, and all boats engaged in catching and transporting shrimp from Mississippi waters must be licensed or permitted by the agency before beginning operations. Staff will continue to sample prior to the opening date. The shrimp season opening date may be postponed if sampling indicates movement of large numbers of juvenile brown shrimp into this area. >click to read< 13:04
High fuel costs impacting shrimping industry in Charleston
The shrimping scene on Shem Creek looks like something out of a movie. 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. >video, click to read< 11:37
As seafood sales rise for Lent, Louisiana shrimpers say their industry is in trouble
With Lent elevating sales of crawfish, fish and shrimp across Louisiana, many local fishermen and shrimpers say they aren’t benefitting. “We’ve been here a long time, and yet we’re just going to get shoved out of the way. When importers come in and start buying cold storage and start buying infrastructure, we’re going to lose our way of life, and Louisiana is going to lose a lot. They’re more at stake than anybody because we’re known for our seafood. That’s why people come to Louisiana is for our seafood and for our culture,” said Acy Cooper, the president of the Louisiana Shrimpers Association. >click to read< 12:02
Mississippi Scientists Develop Unique Method Using Sound To Track Sea Turtle Data
Wayne Carpenter, senior research and development engineer, and Bradley Goodwiller, research scientist, are using sound to monitor turtles that exit shrimp trawls through turtle exclusion devices. “Acoustic impacts with TEDs have implications in understanding the population, migration and allocation of the species,” Carpenter said. “All of this contributes to important conservation work.” The project, Acoustic Enumeration of Sea Turtle Impacts with TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices), was funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. The federal government has mandated TEDs in the shrimping industry since 1987. They have been shown to be highly effective; however, obtaining information about sea turtle interactions with TED-equipped shrimp trawls has been challenging. >click to read< 14:25
F/V Miss Key West bringing shrimp industry back to Key West harbor
It was once a significant part of Key West’s economy, but due to numerous economic forces, the last of the shrimping vessels in the harbor left around 30 years ago, according to Dan Smith. But as of a few weeks ago, Smith and James Phelps have brought the first commercial shrimp vessel back to the Key West Harbor since that time. It now sits in the same place where the Schooner Western Union, the flagship of Florida, once was next to Schooner Wharf bar. On Monday, the two owners stood on the docks next to the Miss Key West, along with their captain, Mark Thomson, and some relatives. Phelps and Smith came up with the idea to bring a shrimp vessel back to Key West, both their families were historically part of the fishing and shrimping industry in Key West. Photos, >click to read< 07:50
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
NOAA: Temporary rule allows shrimpers limited tow times as an alternative to TED’s
NOAA is publishing a temporary rule to allow shrimp fishers to continue to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices. According to LDWF, the use will be in specific Louisiana state waters from 91° 23’ West longitude eastward to the Louisiana/Mississippi border, and seaward out three nautical miles. The temporary rule is effective from December 7, 2021 through January 5, 2022. >click to read< 12:02
Shrimp industry vital to Eastern North Carolina economy
A recent proposal from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is shining new light on the impact the shrimping industry has on eastern North Carolina.,, That original proposition was voted down by state commissioners Thursday,,, Yet many shrimpers, and other county residents, are still reeling from the close call. One of those is 5th generation Shrimper, Cayton Daniels, who makes his entire living off of shrimping. He says he wouldn’t have survived the proposal’s closures. photos, >click to read< 08:41
Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy
Miss Marilyn Louise, a third-generation commercial fisherwoman, is one of the largest contributors to the seafood supply chain coming through Mayport Inlet. The lifelong resident of Mayport Fishing Village walked me through what it’s like to live a life sustained by the ocean. As a child, Miss Marilyn learned to run shrimp boats from her father and grandfather. She’s since passed her knowledge and experience on to her own children, having taken her son out shrimping with her when he was only 11 days old, noting he had sea legs before he could walk on land. >click to read< 07:56
Louisiana shrimpers ‘try and survive’ after Ida sinks boats, destroys homes
Some 20%-30% of the fleet of shrimp boats in the Golden Meadow region of was wiped out by the powerful winds from the Category 4 Hurricane Ida that made landfall on Sunday, shrimpers said. The industry had already suffered lower seafood demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the storm struck fishing communities southwest of New Orleans that had largely been spared when Hurricane Katrina pummeled the state 16 years ago. “We’ve never seen anything this powerful around here before,” said shrimper Russell Plaisance. Plaisance said local shrimpers lost 65%-70% of their revenue in 2020 as the pandemic shut restaurants. This year had been looking up for the top shrimp harvesting state, until the storm. >click to read< 19:04
US Embargo Hits Mexican Shrimp Industry Hard
The United States has suspended certification of wild-caught Mexican shrimp, preventing producers from export part of their production to the USA. Already financially weakened Mexican shrimp exporters are confident that the decision will be reversed soon, but have concerns about the severe economic consequences. US inspectors identified non-conformities in the turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in dozens of fishing gears inspected at Sonora, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Campeche ports. News of the embargo was received with concern by the shrimp fishermen all over Mexico. ‘But we haven’t felt any impact yet, given that we had already exported all stocks and we’re now waiting for the next shrimp season to start in September,’ >photos, click to read< 13:13
Shrimp fishery set to begin with financial loss – could be larger if boats stay at the wharf
Association of Seafood Producers president Derek Butler said the start of the fishery has been driven by a sense of responsibility among everyone that relies on the fishery to make a living. Butler said those involved in the fishery had time to decide whether or not they wanted to open, and understand this season will bring almost guaranteed financial loss. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ original price offer was $1.18 per pound, while processors countered with 70 cents per pound. In the end, a hearing settled on $1.08, but the ASP said that number still means losses for processors. However, Butler said the losses could be larger if boats don’t leave the wharf this season. >click to read< 16:52
Gulf of Mexico Still Struggling 10 Years After BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Blanchard operates one of America’s biggest shrimp distributors, Dean Blanchard Seafood, which has yet to fully recover from the aftereffects of one of the world’s worst oil disasters. The calamity began when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010, The environmental catastrophe devastated one of the world’s most productive aquatic ecosystems five years after Hurricane Katrina had decimated the region. Fishing industry devastated,,, Shrimper and oyster harvester George Barisich said he had to settle for 35% of lost income. “That oil’s basically created pavement at the bottom of the Gulf,” Barisich explained. “Some seafood likes to hide at the bottom, but they can’t burrow in pavement.” Blanchard blames the situation for shrimp hauls that continue to decrease annually. >click to read< 08:19
‘Another punch in the gut’: Gulf Coast shrimpers navigate the coronavirus crisis
Shrimping is a hard business. Gulf Coast shrimpers, who bring in three quarters of the nation’s catch, have been battered with waves of bad luck. Hurricanes. A flood of cheap imports. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Fresh water diversions that kill seafood. And now the coronavirus. Restaurants buy 80% of both imported and domestic shrimp, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance. With restaurants closed or offering only takeout, no one is buying much shrimp. Next month would typically launch the peak of shrimp season as Gulf states begin their annual opening of nearshore waters to shrimping. >click to read< 07:45
Local shrimp industry a tradition worth saving
The town of Mount Pleasant is now in the shrimping business as the new owner of the Wando dock on Shem Creek. What happens there over the next few seasons will be crucial to the future of the local seafood industry, as well as the wider Shem Creek community. First, the town needs to listen to the fishermen and provide them with a serviceable hub of operations, sufficient dock space and easy access to fuel, ice and a processing facility. >click to read<12:46
Portuguese fishermen helped launch Georgia shrimp industry
Wild Georgia Shrimp had it pretty good around here until the likes of John Martin and Joe Santos arrived on our shores following World War I. These two men were among the early wave of Portuguese refugees who crossed the Atlantic Ocean early in the 20th Century, only to chart a course right back into the sea to reap its bounty. Suddenly, our local shrimp began showing up in large numbers on menus and dinner tables from here to New York City. By the 1930s, the public’s newfound taste for these crustaceans had filled the docks along Brunswick’s East River with shrimp boats, all of them captained and crewed by stout-hearted Old World mariners. Those vessels would include the seven trawlers Joe Santos and partner John Mendes owned jointly in the Union Shrimp Company. >click to read<12:49
Bucking rumors of a dying industry, young Lowcountry shrimpers take to the sea.
In pre-dawn’s inky stillness, brackish water floods the back roads leading to Haddrell’s Point near the mouth of Shem Creek on Charleston’s harbor, the full moon’s gravitational pull swelling tides to record heights. Where pavement turns to gravel, a lone street lamp illuminates old signage for the shuttered Wando Shrimp Company, a once vibrant seafood-processing warehouse that closed in 2014 after a sixty-five-year run. There, a ramshackle wooden walkway stretches toward the glaring floodlights of a shrimp trawler named the Miss Paula. Her tangle of furled nets, steel winches, chains, and ropes reach into the night sky. Water laps the dock as three young men pass buckets of ice up onto deck. One by one, their feet anchored in a scupper hole for leverage, they hoist themselves aboard. In an industry dominated by old salts, some of whom have been trawling shrimp for more than fifty years, the Miss Paula is remarkable for the youth of her crew. Captain Vasily “Vasa” Tarvin, at the time of this outing in late 2016, is 25. His deck mate, Franklin Rector, 23. Manning the wheel is Michael Brown, who at the age of 37, wryly pronounces himself “babysitter” on today’s run. click here to continue reading the story. 13:22
Texas shrimp industry battles hostile trends as season closes for two months
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division decided May 15 was a good time to close the state’s shrimp season because, according to its sampling, the average size and number of brown shrimp in Texas coastal waters is higher than the 20-year average. Texas closes its waters to shrimping from the coast to nine nautical miles out for roughly two months each year to give little shrimp time to grow before being harvested. The National Marine Fisheries Service typically imposes a closure out to 200 nautical miles at the same time. More, bigger shrimp is potentially good news for the state’s struggling shrimp industry, since big shrimp fetch higher prices, according to Andrea Hance, shrimp fleet owner and executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association. Read the rest here 19:27
Louisiana shrimpers applaud new Turtle Extruder Law
Today is a monumental day for our shrimp industry and will show the world that Louisiana fishermen and processors have always been concerned with the successful management of our shrimp fishery,” said Mark Abraham, chairman of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force, an advisory panel that includes representatives from the industry and state agencies that regulate it. “The Shrimp Task Force applauds Governor Jindal and our state legislators who worked with us to pass this legislation.” Read the rest here 21:07
