The Love of Shrimp: History, Festival
Shrimp Boats at Dock, Fernandina Beach
Every year, the first weekend in May, Amelia Island celebrates the “Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival,” which attracts 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), and then read more below about the unfortunate state of the domestic, wild-caught Shrimping Industry in the U.S.
Find more videos like this on Amelia Island Living.NET
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
Hopeful Pelicans Wait at Atlantic Seafood, Fernandina Beach, Florida
When you buy shrimp at the supermarket, or you order shrimp off a restaurant menu, consider the origin of that shrimp. Do you presume it is 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 (now 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, around the US coastline, are losing their way to earn a living. Just look at the escalating cost of fuel – imagine how much it now costs shrimpers to fuel a shrimp boat.
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 the FDA alerts regarding Asian imported seafood products…(read more below)
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.
FDA ALERT FOR AQUACULTURE SEAFOOD PRODUCTS FROM CHINA
Lead in toys manufactured in China opened American’s eyes, with fright, that we should pay a lot more attention to where the products we buy are manufactured and regulation of these industries. And remember the pet food scare? This apparently goes for the seafood we eat, too. Here’s some more FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
According to an August 3, 2007 FDA import alert (#16-131) for aquaculture seafood products from China, the FDA noted the problem of “unapproved drug residues and unsafe food additives.” The FDA alert states their concerns…
“There has been extensive commercialization and increased consumption of aquaculture seafood products worldwide,” says the FDA alert…
“Aquacultured seafood has become the fastest growing sector of the world food economy, accounting for approximately half of all seafood production worldwide. Approximately 80% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported from approximately 62 countries. Over 40% of that seafood comes from aquaculture operations. As the aquaculture industry continues to grow and compete with wild-caught seafood products, concerns regarding the use of unapproved animal drugs and unsafe chemicals and the misuse of animal drugs in aquaculture operations have increased substantially.”
“China is the largest producer of aquacultured seafood in the world, accounting for 70% of the total production and 55% of the total value of aquacultured seafood exported around the world. China is currently the third largest exporter of seafood to the U.S. Shrimp and catfish products represent two of the top ten most consumed seafood products in the U.S. The use of unapproved antibiotics or chemicals in aquaculture raises significant public health concerns,” reported the FDA alert.
“There is clear scientific evidence that the use of antibiotics or chemicals, such as malachite green, nitrofurans, fluoroquinolones, and gentian violet during the various stages of aquaculture can result in the presence of residues of the parent compound or its metabolites in the edible portion of the aquacultured seafood. The presence of antibiotic residues may contribute to an increase of antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens. Moreover, prolonged exposure to nitrofurans, malachite green, and gentian violet has been shown to have a carcinogenic affect.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT ASIAN SHRIMP INDUSTRY ABUSES AT CNN WEB SITE
Read the full CNN report about slavery in the Asian Shrimp industry and to see the complete list of retail chains selling Asian imported shrimp.)
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