Shrimp Boats at Dock, Fernandina Beach
Every year, the first weekend in May, Amelia Island celebrates the “Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival,” an event attracting well over 100,000 visitors to this barrier island in northeast Florida. (For more information on the Shrimp Festival itself, click here.)
Here in Fernandina Beach, Florida, the birth place of the modern shrimping industry, many folks are shrimp savvy. Some are rooted to the shrimping industry, while others understand the difference of buying “wild-caught domestic shrimp” versus farmed, Asian imports.
Venture to the beach at night and you’ll likely see on the distant horizon, the twinkling dots of light – the shrimp boats off Amelia Island’s coastline. Or during the day you’ve seen the shrimp boats docked by the Fernandina Harbor and along Front Street docks.
Add to Amelia’s beautiful beaches and quaint historic district in Fernandina, the bonus of shrimp boats right here in our back yard. Fresh shrimp, recently swimming in the local waters and on our plates in a day or less sometimes. Let’s put another check mark in the “good life” column, here in Fernandina Beach.
Fernandina’s locally-caught shrimp is a real treat! Fresh, crunchy, a culinary delight! (Of course, you have to be careful not to overcook shrimp – it only takes a few, brief minutes).
See how folks on Amelia Island celebrate during the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival (watch the Shrimp Festival video below), and also read more below about the unfortunate state of the domestic, wild-caught Shrimping Industry in the U.S.
NEW IN 2011, SHRIMP DEMONSTRATION TOUR
A new tour in Fernandina Beach has been introduced in 2011 about shrimping. This educational Discovery Tour is offered by Amelia River Cruises. What better place than the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry in USA, to take an educational tour about America’s favorite seafood? The Shrimp Demonstration Tours pull a net and dump the contents to show cruise passengers fresh caught shrimp and other sea critters that live in local waters. What a great learning experience for kids and adults alike! (See more about Amelia River Cruises, watch a cruise video and learn lots more about Amelia Island’s waterways.)
AMERICANS LOVE SHRIMP, THE MOST VALUABLE SEAFOOD IMPORT
The American appetite for shrimp is big. Americans love shrimp, as proven by the fact that it’s the most valuable seafood import to the United States (reportedly over $4 billion). Unfortunately, much of the shrimp we eat are Asian imports, farmed shrimp, not the higher quality wild-caught American shrimp.
BUY WILD-CAUGHT, DOMESTIC SHRIMP WHEN AVAILABLE
When you buy shrimp at the supermarket, or order shrimp off a restaurant menu, consider the origin. Do you presume it’s shrimp from the sea? The odds are against it, since much of the seafood in U.S. stores and restaurants is farmed, not wild-caught. The aquaculture seafood industry is a huge global industry, and reportedly, 80% of shrimp eaten by Americans is imported.
Asian shrimp in the marketplace has helped the decline of the domestic, wild-caught shrimp industry in the US. Today’s American shrimpers are a waning breed, many coming from a long family history in the business — generations of shrimpers. Those catching shrimp the traditional way, wild-caught, fresh from the sea, have had difficulty competing with the flood of Asian imports.
DOMESTIC SHRIMP BOATS DWINDLING IN NUMBERS
With cheap Asian labor (there are reports that it’s a slave industry in Asia), the global marketplace has been flooded with aquaculture shrimp, putting some wild-caught shrimpers out of business. Those domestic shrimpers who toil at sea to catch fresh shrimp in U.S. waters, the traditional way, are losing their way to earn a living.
Hopeful Pelicans Wait at Atlantic Seafood, Fernandina Beach
LOCAL SEAFOOD MARKET, ATLANTIC SEAFOOD, FERNANDINA BEACH
Stop by Atlantic Seafood, located at the Fernandina Harbor public boat ramp (10 Ash Street, just a block from Centre Street), to buy shrimp. You’ll be rewarded with the great tasting wild-caught shrimp. The other seafood market on Fernandina’s docks, at the end of Front Street on the river, has a “CLOSED” sign on the door. The Fernandina Seafood Market had a great reputation here in town. Perhaps another casualty of Asian shrimp imports?
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
So think twice when buying shrimp. Make sure you know what you’re getting (domestic vs. imported, aquaculture vs. wild-caught). If it costs more for American wild-caught shrimp, isn’t it worth it for a higher-quality product, and at the same time support the American shrimping industry? While the height of the local shrimping season is during the cooler months of the year, wild-caught, domestic shrimp is a product you can buy year round in the U.S. Also consider FDA alerts regarding Asian imported seafood products.
WHEN DINING OUT, ASK FOR WILD-CAUGHT AMERICAN SHRIMP
Many of the finest chefs would agree that wild-caught shrimp is the only type of shrimp to serve discerning diners. For example, Chef Emeril Lagassae of Food Network reportedly uses only wild-caught American shrimp in his restaurants and frozen food products. There’s actually a certification for Wild American-caught Shrimp. “Certified Wild American” shrimp is a sign of quality — the shrimp harvester or processor has been approved by Wild American Shrimp, Inc. (WASI), having met strict quality standards and passed US environmental and food regulation standards. WASI is the marketing arm of the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA). WASI and SSA represent harvesters, processors, and distributors.
