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Shrimp Industry – Saltwater Crawfish
Franklin County’s shrimp industry emerged in the early 20th century, following an already successful oyster industry in and around Apalachicola Bay.
By 1897, fresh shrimp were sold locally but, up until about 1900, most fishermen threw them back into the water as an unwanted bycatch when they found them in their seine nets.
Shrimp were plentiful in the bay but their full potential was not realized until 1902 when Sollecito Salvatore, a Sicilian immigrant living along Florida’s east coast, revolutionized the industry. Salvatore (anglicized Mark Salvador) was a seine fisherman in Fernandina. Like most fishermen of the day, shrimp were a by-product of his shallow-water seining operation until he began using a power-driven boat with a haul seine which allowed him to work in deep water and increase his shrimp catch.
Before 1900, shrimping was small scale, done in rowboats with hand nets. When Salvador began using larger nets and motorized boats, shrimping took off. In 1913, the weighted trawl net was invented, further increasing the catch and expanding the shrimp industry worldwide.
By the mid 1910s, several local seafood companies were in operation along the Apalachicola riverfront, including the Ruge Brothers Canning Company, Bay City Packing Company, Apalachicola Packing Company, Rice Brothers Packing Company and the Apalachicola Fish and Oyster Packing Company. By 1915, multiple canneries were shipping canned seafood, including shrimp, to northern markets.
By 1919 the Florida legislature passed a law regulating shrimping operations in which the statute referred to the crustaceans as “Salt Water Crawfish.” By the 1920s, the shrimp industry moved down Florida’s east coast, around the peninsula to the Apalachicola area, and expanded west into the Gulf coast to Texas and then down to the Tortugas and across to Campehe, Mexico.
Today, Apalachicola Bay shrimpers average more than a million pounds per year, nearly 20% of the state’s shrimp supply.
Inshore shrimp fishermen generally use a small bay boat, less than 38 feet long. Shrimpers fish by day or night depending on the time of year and the habits of the species sought. Offshore shrimpers use larger boats, 72-90 feet long. Because the larger boats generally stay out for 10 days or longer, the shrimp caught are flash frozen on board the vessel to maximize freshness.
About the Shrimp
There are three major types of shrimp harvested from the waters in and around Apalachicola Bay: white, brown and pink shrimp. Pink and brown shrimp are the largest and most important species harvested locally. Pink and brown shrimp are nocturnal but white shrimp are not.
Shrimp are complicated. Eggs are hatched offshore and then the minuscule shrimp then move shoreward to shallow waters, living on the bottoms of grass flats; they develop rapidly during the nursery period and move into deeper bay waters. When they reach about four inches shrimp migrate again offshore, complete maturation and spawn.
Seafood Labels
In 1904, Apalachicola native Minigo Risatanna opened the Apalachicola Fish & Oyster Packing Company. Risatanna marketed his Apalachicola oysters under the Apalachicola Fish & Oyster label - a design featuring an Apalachicola oyster bracketed by two fish. The image extolled the area’s phenomenal fishing industry that began shipping salted fish to the plantations in Georgia and Alabama in the 1800s. This historic label also features a Gulf Trader Schooner - one of many such vessels that once plied the waters of Apalachicola Bay. For several years beginning in 1914, Risatanna shipped shrimp under the colorful Santa Claus brand Shrimp label.
The Bay City Packing Company was one of the first commercial seafood canneries in Florida. Established in 1889, the packing house began as an oyster processing plant along Apalachicola’s bustling riverfront. In 1896, Apalachicola native Joseph Messina purchased the company and expanded the canning process to include shrimp, fish and roe. The Bay City Packing Company packed for distributors nationwide. Messina started packing under the trademark “Pearl Brand.” Pearl Messina was Joseph Messina’s daughter and it is her picture that appears on the original “Pearl Brand Fancy Oyster” label. She is also the namesake on the “Pearl Brand Fancy Shrimp” label.
THE APALACHICOLA TIMES
Saturday, March 24, 1923
NEW METHOD OF PACKING SHRIMP IN APALACHICOLA
Rice Brothers packing Company have completed arrangements for the packing of shrimp in glass tumblers, and expect to put up at least half of their spring pack in glass and the balance in cans as usual. A car load (2500 2 dozen cartons) of these glass tumblers have arrived also two vacuum closing machines which will be used to putting on the caps, the special processing equipment which is automatically controlled is complete in every respect, and it is expected that this new package will tend to increase the demand for shrimp, which has been lagging for the past twelve months.
Apalachicola was the first point in Florida to successfully can shrimp, and this was done by Rice Brothers Packing Company in 1913, and if there are any new angles to the game you can count on Apalachicola being among the first to try them out. Let us hope that this new package will be a success and that it will be the means of increasing the demand for this delicious sea food to an extent that will exceed the supply, and bring prosperity to the fishermen and the firms engaged in this important industry.