SHRIMP
(Family: Penaeidae)
Our Bays have many different species of
Shrimp, but only the ones from the Family
of Penaeidae are large enough for the dinner table.
Primarily, we have Brown Shrimp (Penaeus aztecus), White Shrimp (P. setiferus)
and pink Shrimp (P. duorarum), and these
are the bulk of Rockport’s Commercial
Shrimping.
LORE: Here in Rockport, Commercial
Shrimping got started back in the 1920’s.
Prior to the 1940’s, long fishing nets were
used with floats & lead weighs that were
set close to shore and were pulled by men
or horses.
By the 1940’s, the Shrimpers began Trawling with tapered wing nets and wooden
doors with weighted metal runners attached. Lines ran from the Shrimp Boat to
each door. As the Shrimp Boat tows the
Trawl over the sea bottom, the Trawl is
held open by the kite-like spreading action
of the doors, and Shrimp and other bottom
fish are scooped into an open Trawl.
72
A ‘Shrimp Boat’ named the ‘Unknown’
- Docked at Rockport Harbor.