Tag Archives: South Carolina
Save US shrimping industry. Buy domestic wild-caught shrimp.
For decades, South Carolina’s shrimpers have faced challenges, but the imported shrimp crisis has reached a critical juncture. The influx of foreign shrimp, often at artificially low prices, is decimating our domestic shrimping industry, putting the livelihoods of thousands of South Carolina families at risk. The situation has changed dramatically in recent years. The rising tide of imported shrimp far outpaces shrimp consumption in the United States because of subsidized foreign production and lax trade enforcement. American shrimpers aren’t competing on a level playing field. We face an inflection point. If we do not take decisive action, the domestic shrimping industry will collapse, with devastating consequences for our coastal communities and the heritage of shrimping in South Carolina. >>click to read<< 09:06
Wild-Caught Shrimp: South Carolina’s Long History
There’s something positively serene about watching shrimp boats trawling our coastal waters. Shrimping has been an important part of our culture in Beaufort and all of South Carolina since long before anyone can remember. In fact it’s been a labor of love for fishermen since before the Civil War and is still alive and kicking today with a thriving market served by dedicated commercial fishermen in the Palmetto State. Shrimp are America’s most valuable and most popular seafood, according to the NOAA Fisheries, and SCDNR tells us that South Carolina is home to three species of shrimp: brown shrimp, white shrimp, and pink shrimp. Brown and white shrimp are more common than pink shrimp, but all three taste the same. >>click to read<< 20:47
Lowcountry shrimpers say area restaurants buying shrimp from other countries is putting a strain on the industry
Lowcountry shrimpers are concerned that they are going to be priced out by imported shrimp. But there’s one local organization working to promote eating locally. The South Carolina Shrimper’s Association has multiple goals such as advocating for policies that support the shrimping industry, educating the public about the industry, and promoting sustainable shrimping. One of the biggest problems Lowcountry shrimpers are facing right now is local restaurants importing the shrimp. They say some restaurants import shrimp from other countries at extremely low prices that local shrimpers just can’t afford to beat – and it’s impacting their livelihood. Video, “It’s been happening for a long time now, but it’s gotten to where it’s getting out of hand,” said local shrimper Rocky Magwood. >>click to read<< 13:03
S.C. Shrimpers Association asks public’s help in fighting imported shrimp crisis
The South Carolina Shrimpers Association has announced its new leadership team for the 2023-2025 term. This comes after an emergency meeting was called to address the imported shrimp crisis and elect leaders to navigate the challenges faced by local shrimpers. The newly elected leadership team will shoulder the responsibility of representing the interests of South Carolina shrimpers at both state and federal levels. Their primary focus is on promoting the sustainability of the shrimping industry in the region, particularly in the face of the imported shrimp crisis. Video, >>click to read<< 09:21
Beaufort’s shrimping industry on the brink. Local boats sit while imported catch floods market
Thursday at Village Creek on St. Helena Island was another picture postcard-worthy morning with an American flag lilting in a slight southeast breeze near the shrimper Gracie Bell — idly tied to the dock. At Sea Eagle Market, a catch of shrimp swept up in the nets of trawlers in recent days are being processed by small group of dockside workers. They clean the valuable seafood crop harvested from waters as far away as North Carolina to the northeast coast of Florida before being sold locally and up and down the Palmetto State’s coast. After this recent harvest was completed, the boats returned, as they always do — to Village Creek, home base for shrimping on Fripp and Hunting Islands in Beaufort County and beyond. Against this serene backdrop, a storm is brewing that threatens destruction. It is not the threat of foul weather, these shrimpers have seen generations of bad weather days. The storm brewing is economic for the community of shrimpers and related businesses. >click to read< 10:10
Shrimp Alliance request fisheries disaster declaration
There’s no other way to put it if you ask Aaron Wallace. Despite a decent catch by the eight shrimp boats that supply Anchored Shrimp Co. in Brunswick, the prices fishermen are getting for their hauls aren’t what they should be. “It’s been one of our toughest years,” Wallace said. He and his father, John Wallace, own Anchored Shrimp and operate the Gale Force, one of the boats that serve the company’s retail and wholesale business. The Southern Shrimp Alliance, for which John Wallace serves as a member of the board of directors, is calling the flood of imported shrimp a crisis. The alliance asked the governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas in a letter on Aug. 25 to collectively request a fisheries disaster determination by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for the U.S. shrimp fishery. >>click to read<< 11:06
A family tradition: The life of a Lowcountry shrimper
At 4:30 a.m., most people are still asleep, or maybe they’re just starting to roll out of bed. Not Rocky Magwood. Shrimpers like Captain Magwood and his crew are already a half-mile off the Charleston shoreline by that time, hard at work netting dozens of crustaceans to be used in some of the Lowcountry’s most iconic culinary dishes. On Tuesday, Captain Magwood set up in a spot his family has been shrimping for more than a century. It’s a trade he was forced to learn at a young age. When he was 12, his father passed away, leaving him to balance going to school and maintaining the family shrimping business. Trooper Bob will be documenting his experience on his social media pages throughout the day. Photos, >>click to read<< 14:58
Port Royal begins rebuilding 30-year-old dock. Move shows renewed commitment to shrimping
O’Quinn Marine Construction, hired by the town for $130,000, is now tearing down the Battery Creek landmark, piling by piling and plank by plank. But the scuttling of dock isn’t the end but rather a new beginning for shrimping and fishing and seafood processing, which have deep roots in northern Beaufort County. “It’s a first of several steps to reestablish fishing and shrimping as a iconic industry in Port Royal,” Van Willis, the town’s manager, said of the dock removal. A new dock and processing facility for fisherman and shrimpers are now being planned to replace the old facilities that had been in place since 1989. Over the past two years, the State Legislature has allocated the town $2 million for the work. Video, >click to read< 08:57
Coast Guard, good Samaritans assist 4 aboard shrimping vessel taking on water near St. Simons Island
The Coast Guard and good Samaritans assisted four people Tuesday after their shrimping vessel began taking on water near St. Simons Island, Georgia. Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders received a notification at 10:33 p.m, via VHF-FM channel 16 marine radio, from the Joann B, a 75-foot shrimping vessel, stating their vessel was taking on water 4 miles east of St. Simons Island. The boat crew and air crew arrived on scene and began rendering assistance with three dewatering pumps. Good Samaritans from the fishing vessel Miss Vicky and commercial salvage also assisted with dewatering efforts. Photos, video. >click to read< 16:37
80-year-old shrimper still selling catch to St. Helena’s Gay Fish Co. ‘Kids won’t do this’
With muscly tan forearms that belie his age, Jim Buchanan hoists a 60-pound basket of white shrimp fat with roe onto the dock at Gay Fish Co. on St. Helena Island. “It’s hard work and, if you don’t like it, good God, it would be absolute misery,” Buchanan says. Buchanan, who is 80, won’t retire, he says with a smile, “Until somebody finds me on the back deck.” He enjoys being on the ocean and the hard work. Buchanan is one of five captains who own boats that dock and sell their catches at one of the surviving docks — Gay Fish Co., a St. Helena Island landmark that turns 75 this year, making it one of the oldest shrimping businesses in Beaufort County. Video, Photos, >click to read< 07:57
Beaufort County shrimpers netting big white shrimp as season opens. ‘Thankful everyday’
Craig Reaves loves his office: The southern coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The owner of Beaufort-based Sea Eagle Market was among 20 shrimp boat captains who were at work Thursday, plying the waters near Pritchards Inlet near Fripp Island. It was opening day of the commercial shrimp trawling season, which is a big deal in a state where shrimp is the favorite Seafood and cities name festivals in honor of the delicious crustaceans. Nets dragged the bottom of the ocean catching big early-season white roe-shrimp. When the fishing day is done, this variety will usually fetch higher prices. “We serve a mighty God so we’re thankful everyday we get to come to work every day in the ocean,” Reaves said. “Beautiful.” >click to read< 07:55
South Carolina’s shrimp harvest to open June 1
Commercial shrimp trawling is set to open in all legal South Carolina waterways on Thursday morning. Harvesting season typically opens in full by mid-to-late May after the opening of eight smaller provisional areas in the outer waters. But officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) said those provisional waters opened at the end of April, which allowed shrimpers to begin harvesting some larger white shrimp further offshore while “still protecting most of the spawning population closer to shore.” >click to read< 14:07
Benefit planned for captain whose boat caught on fire
A benefit for the captain who was injured in a boat fire leaving the Blessing of the Fleet parade in April is set for June 4. Larry Cobb was returning from the Blessing of the Fleet Parade on April 30 when a fire broke out on his shrimp trawler, The F/V Bridget. Unable to extinguish the flames, Cobb, who is 78 years old, was forced to abandon the ship, jumping from the boat into the pluff mud below. He suffered burns to his hands and face, and the ship was destroyed. The loss of The Bridget was upsetting, but the tight-knit fishing and shrimping community quickly rose to the occasion to support Cobb. >click to read< 09:28
Shrimp trawling season to be ‘typical’ despite December cold snap
Approaching the opening date for commercial shrimp trawling, one of the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources (SCDNR) employees sampling the population said there was an initial concern about the cold weather last December, but he doesn’t believe it’s significant enough to affect this year’s season. DNR sets the opening date for all general zones based on shrimp reproduction along the coast, especially making sure white shrimp had enough time to reproduce. Since cold weather affects shrimp migration, this time is especially important to make sure there’s enough for fishermen through the season. >click to read< 14:32
Lowcountry is the last ‘wild west’ for blue crabs. Crabbers call for change.
In February, David Richardson drove to Columbia from his home in Charleston to speak to a room of state senators about his life as a South Carolina crabber, which, at the moment, “is kind of miserable.” But it wasn’t always miserable. Which is why he drove two hours to the Statehouse, a place he had never been nor expected to visit. The crabber thought about wearing a Hawaiian shirt, then thought twice: “I wore a suit, thank God.” As crab numbers fell over the past decade across the Eastern Seaboard, South Carolina did nothing, but North Carolina increased its management actions. It designated some areas as “no-fishing” spawning sanctuaries. And Georgia decided to limit the number of commercial crabbing licenses to under 100. Photos, >click to read< 08:39
Shrimp boat that caught fire, sank on way to Blessing of the Fleet removed from water
A shrimp boat that caught fire and sank on its way to this year’s Blessing of the Fleet ceremony in Mount Pleasant was removed from the water on Tuesday, according to a witness. Rocky Magwood, who was there on April 30 when the boat caught fire, says that Coastal Dredging retrieved the boat and brought it to land – all free of charge. Michael Cobb says his 78-year-old father, Larry, was hospitalized after his hands were seriously burned. “I’m just thankful he’s alive,” he told reporter Natalie Spala.7 Photos, >click to read< 13:26
A windy celebration: The 36th annual ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ and seafood festival
It was the 36th annual Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood festival in Mount Pleasant Sunday. The events bring nearly 10,000 seafood lovers together to enjoy local shrimp and fish. The Blessing of the Fleet is how the town of Mount Pleasant sends good wishes to local shrimpers. “What we’re here for is to ask God’s blessing on their shrimpers and families,” said Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie. “It’s hard work, they’re out there in bad weather and good weather and they bring us the best shrimp in America.” >click to read< 08:50
Video Update:1 injured after shrimp boat catches fire on way to ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ Sunday
A shrimp boat on the way to the annual “Blessing of the Fleet” festival Sunday ended up catching fire and leaving a sailor injured, according to Mount Pleasant Fire officials. Fire officials said the boater attempted to extinguish the fire before abandoning ship. He was the only person onboard at the time and was rescued from pluff mud nearby. He was transported to the Medical University of South Carolina for treatment of unknown injuries, fire officials said. >click to read< 07:43
Shrimp Boat Burns During ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ off SC Coast – Fire decimated a boat during a celebration to kick off shrimping season along the South Carolina coast, photos show. >click for video<
Sunday, April 30th: 36th Annual Mount Pleasant Blessing of the Fleet, ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ shirts include tribute to Capt. Wayne Magwood
The annual Blessing of the Fleet & Seafood Festival celebrates Mount Pleasant’s rich maritime heritage and highlights the importance of supporting our local shrimping/fishing captains and their crews who are prayed over for a safe and bountiful season ahead during the ceremonial boat parade as it passes the end of the Mount Pleasant pier. Video, >click to watch< ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ shirts include tribute to Capt. Wayne Magwood >click to read< 10:59
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
Human waste may end oyster harvesting on the May River. Can Bluffton clean it up?
Larry Toomer’s business depends on the May River. On a cold January morning, he stood on the boat ramp outside the Bluffton Oyster Co. with a paper cup of steaming gas station coffee in hand. A lifetime of wrestling shrimping nets has left him with a sturdy build. His rose-colored face is in stark contrast with his ghost-white hair. Behind him, dense clouds of powdery fog swallowed the river, giving his shrimp trawler the illusion of flight. The well-worn ship is easily two stories tall. “Daddy’s Girls” is painted in black-and-blue block lettering on the side. Named for his three daughters, the trawler has become the unofficial town seal. When a home is on a septic system, he said, everything that is flushed down the drain goes into a tank below the house. The solids are filtered out and held in the tank. The liquids go into a drain field below. “Do you understand what I’m saying?” Toomer said, elaborating on the path of human excrement. “Every day, right out the toilet.” >click to read< 15:41
Mount Pleasant to celebrate shrimping season with annual Blessing of the Fleet
The Lowcountry will gather to celebrate the local shrimping and fishing industries during the annual “Blessing of The Fleet” on April 30. The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradition local shrimpers have been a part of for years. The annual event will feature a boat parade, seafood samplings, shag and shrimp eating contests, and local artists and food vendors. >click to read< 17:35
Last of broken down boats leaving old Port Royal dock. Now new construction can begin
At a Thursday auction, ordered by a federal court, an old shrimp trawler sold for $50. It will be moved shortly, Town Manager Van Willis said. The town previously removed the oil and fuel from the vessel. A sailboat also was up for sale at the auction, Willis said, but there were no bidders. As a result, Willis said, “It’s officially ours now.” The town plans to scuttle the sailboat. The town’s plan to replace one of the few publicly owned commercial fishing docks remaining in South Carolina comes as Safe Harbor Marinas begins its initial work in a major redevelopment that will transform the town’s waterfront. >click to read< 13:23
With dock closing, Georgetown shrimpers ask if local port could become new home
Waterfront seafood vendor Independent Seafood will close after more than 80 years, leaving Georgetown shrimp boat owners without a long dock that has been key to their livelihoods for generations. The sale of the lot and its brick building at the southern end of Cannon Street comes at a time that Georgetown County is seeing lower seafood sales than years past and fewer trawlers in county waters. An idea to replace the lost dock space to keep remaining shrimp boats in town involves a spot not far away from Independent Seafood’s dock — the dormant Port of Georgetown, soon to be turned over to Georgetown County from the state ports authority. >click to read< 08:25
South Carolina Shrimper Finds Smooth Sailing with Help of EDA Revolving Loan Fund Program
James Bradley is a second-generation commercial fisherman from South Carolina. He’s the owner of Bradley’s Commercial Fishing, a family-owned business on St. Helena Island. The company provides shrimp and other seafood items to local restaurants. Fishing has been a proud tradition for the Bradley family, which has been in the seafood business for more than 100 years. An able seaman who learned how to shrimp and fish from his father, Bradley served as captain of the company’s shrimp trawler, F/V Bradley’s Pride, which would sail the Atlantic off the South Carolina coast. It served as the centerpiece of Bradley’s company and its main source of revenue. After more than five decades in business, however, he realized it was time to buy a new boat.>click to read< 19:46
Old Port Royal shrimp boat is sunk off Hilton Head Island. It’s now being put to good use
A 70-foot shrimp boat, once docked in the town of Port Royal, has joined New York City subway cars and other unusual materials that make up a man-made reef off of South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, where black sea bass, grouper and barracuda and other fish hang out. On Oct. 25, the Palmetto Pride, a shrimp boat with Beaufort-based Sea Eagle Market, captained by Cameron Reaves, towed the Buccaneer to Betsy Ross Reef, 16 miles east of Hilton Head, where it was sunk the next day, said Craig Reaves, Cameron’s brother. Craig Reeves sees it as a “win win,” he said, because the older shrimp boat will benefit both the environment in its new life and Port Royal’s efforts to remove old boats from its water prepares as it prepares to build a new shrimp dock and processing facility. Video, >click to read< 09:05
The fight to protect right whale, lobsters roils Maine politics
In a state where few things matter more than lobster, it’s no surprise that Mainers are getting a hefty portion of crustacean politics as part of the campaigning for the 2022 midterm elections. What is surprising, however, is the high level of anger and frustration pointed squarely at Washington regulators, with many arguing that NOAA’s new rules are unfair and will hit the prized lobster industry far too hard. Rule backers say they’ll help protect a dwindling population of whales that’s at grave risk from fishing gear. “The men and women who make up Maine’s iconic lobster fishery are facing a terrible crisis, a crisis not of their making, a crisis that is due to this administration’s onerous regulations,” photos, >click to read< 12:11
It takes a village: Owner of F/V Shayna Michelle stuck on beach talks about rescue efforts
The Coast Guard was called in to rescue the four-man crew after they anchored down about two miles off the coast of Myrtle Beach.”We expect it to end up on the beach, but there’s also possibilities of pumps and other things quitting, causing the boat to sink. It gets you nervous there,” Aaron Robinson, owner of the Shayna Michelle, said. The anchor line snapped during the storm, and eventually, the boat washed up on shore. Robinson said the tiring effort to get his boat back in the water was something that could only happen with dedication and lifelong friendships. The Varnam family played a big role in orchestrating the effort, along with many other locals that had the resources, manpower, and knowledge needed to make this successful. Thousands of pounds of rope and a couple of excavators made it happen. >click to read< 08:53
Myrtle Beach man charged after he climbed on fishing boat that washed ashore during Hurricane Ian
A Myrtle Beach man was charged after he was accused of climbing on a fishing boat that washed ashore during Hurricane Ian, according to Master Cpl. Tom Vest with the Myrtle Beach Police Department. Isaac Shaw, 50, of Myrtle Beach, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Police said Shaw climbed aboard the boat while it was tossing in the surf. >lick to read< 20:31
Florida, Carolinas count the cost of Hurricane Ian
Florida, North and South Carolina faced a massive clean-up on Saturday from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ian, after one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S. mainland caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed more than 20 people. Ian, now a post-tropical cyclone, was weakening but still forecast to bring treacherous conditions to parts of the Carolinas, Virginia and West Virginia into Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. “Major to record river flooding will continue across central Florida through next week. Limited flash, urban and small stream flooding is possible across the central Appalachians and the southern Mid-Atlantic this weekend, with minor river flooding expected over the coastal Carolinas,” it said. >click to read< 08:40
