Fresh SC Shrimp

In preparation for the opening of shrimp season I am going to drop some science on y’all in a three part series, starting with the most common shrimp question, “what kind of shrimp are there in South Carolina”.

Of the 2000 species of shrimp that exist in the world, the South Carolina lowcountry can lay claim to three of them, white shrimp, brown shrimp, and pink shrimp.  White Shrimp (Litopeneaus setiferus) are the most sought after by commercial fishermen and restaurants alike for their size and flavor.  They spawn in the spring (now), and are what the shrimpers will catch first (May, early June) and last (Oct. – Dec.) in the shrimping season.  Brown Shrimp (Farfantepanaeus aztecus) spawn in the fall and are what the shrimpers will be catching during the summer months.  Although smaller in size, the brown shrimp have a great flavor and are commonly used in shrimp dips, popcorn shrimp, shrimp salad, and my favorite, pickled shrimp.  Pink Shrimp (Farfantepanaeus duorarum) are the least common on the SC coast and also spawn in the spring.

Knowing which shrimp are being caught during the season can help you determine if a restaurant is really serving fresh shrimp, or lying to you (common practice, unfortunately).  White shrimp are easily identified by the green color at the end of their tail (before cooking).  If it is July, and the restaurant is claiming fresh, local shrimp, ask to see an uncooked shrimp.  If there is green on the tail, its highly doubtful that its fresh, although it may be local and frozen.  In which case, ask to see the package it came in.  It will tell you where it was caught.  If it says Thailand, I at least, will get up and walk out.  The main way the general public can help our commercial fishermen is to be educated and DEMAND to only be served local seafood.

The Village Lady, Shrimp Fest

The shrimp season ended as planned yesterday, and most of the boats in McClellanville stayed at the dock for the day.  The Post and Courier ran an article entitled “Net Decline” on the shrimp season today, and it definitely didn’t paint a real pretty picture.  The article states that this season was the worst since 2005.  Fuel prices in July were $4.70 per gallon while the shrimpers were catching brown shrimp, which bring the lowest price.  DNR doesn’t know how many shrimp were caught this year yet, so we don’t really know how it stacks up against years past. 

The article goes on to say how the shrimp industry is getting the squeeze from all directions, mostly fuel prices being way up and farm raised and imported shrimp driving prices down.  While the South Carolina shrimping fleet has been on the decline for 12 years, I think that we are still going to see shrimp boats in our waters for a long time to come.  A lot of shrimpers did move south early this year, but the cold snap also drove the shrimp south earlier than expected.

Now, more than ever, it is important to demand to only be served local shrimp.  Our local shrimpers are trying to put a better product on our tables.  The problem lies with restaurants that are more than willing to cut cost by not supporting the local economy (then tell servers to lie about where they are from).  The cost difference would be about $.10 per shrimp dinner.  People that are eating shrimp in their homes will often go to the supermarket and buy whatever they have rather than making a second stop to get fresh, local shrimp.  Support your local commercial fishermen and GoLocal.

Now we’re in the holding pattern and waiting for shrimp festival around the first weekend in May.  This marks not only the start of shrimp season, but also the start of summertime.  Lets hope for lower fuel prices, a better catch, and a better local market for next season.  The water temperature is back up to 50 degrees, so let’s hope it holds there.

Wally World

I was reading the most recent issue of South Carolina Wildlife magazine, which is published by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR), last night.  The opening section, Directions, was written by John E. Frampton, the Director of DNR.  He says that the pace of life in the south is changing as “our daily lives pulse through cyberspace”, and with our busier, always connected lives we are losing touch with our outdoor traditions and culture.

He states that there has been a 12% decline in the number of hunters and anglers in the state since 2001, and that our recreation areas are experiencing drops in hikers, boaters, campers, and wildlife watchers as well. The support for conservation initiatives is also falling off as a result of people interacting less with the natural world.  He claims that as a result of this, “urban sprawl continues to replace open natural lands once available for hunters, anglers, and anyone else who enjoys getting outdoors.” He has started the Life’s Better Outdoors campaign to get people back outside.  His intro is a lead-in for another article in the magazine, Making Memories, where S.C. Wildlife readers share tales of their outdoor traditions.

While I don’t agree with everything that Mr. Frampton says, I do agree that people are spending less time outdoors, and that some of our traditions are going by the wayside.  I am as guilty as anyone as I work on my computer, in Mr. Frampton’s “cyberspace”.  I have gone from one phone and one email to at least 10 email addresses, a blackberry (so I can always check my email), an RSS reader with I-have-no-clue-how-many feeds, and a phone glued to my ear.  While I do still make the time to get outside and meditate on our natural environment, I would love to have more of it.

Our loss of culture can not simply be attributed to “cyberspace”, though.  Culture the world over is being homogenized by the rapid spread of globalization.  You can walk into one of the WalMarts in 14 different coutries and get essentially the same goods.  You drive through one of the more than 31,000 McDonald’s franchises in 109 different countries and get a Big Mac.  As we are innundated with these chains, our local cultures are slowly being lost forever.

What can be done to stop it?  Of course I’d like to tell you that it can be stopped just by eating local seafood, but that isn’t true.  Try to eat as much local food in general as you can (try all-local meals for a week), shop at locally owned businesses rather than big chains (try that for a week), and get outside.  Get out on the water or in the woods.  If you’re from here, remember to do the things that people in the lowcountry traditionally do like hunting and fishing.  If you’re not from here, get someone who is to turn you on to our outdoors.  If we don’t go local, we won’t have the lowcountry we all call home anymore.

Turn off the computer now.  Go outside.