N.C. Shrimp
I live in an oceanfront home in Emerald Isle, NC. Most days, year round, I can watch shrimp boats returning from their fishing grounds as I watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, watching the sun rise over the ocean is a distinct benefit of living on the ONLY east-west oriented Outer Banks barrier island. At dusk and into the night, I can watch shrimp boats with all their lights ablaze like a Christmas tree ply the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in search of the tasty and celebrated crustaceans, the North Carolina shrimp.
North Carolina has three main types of shrimp: brown, pink and white. Shrimp are estuarine dependent — that means they live in marshes and estuaries which is a fancy way of describing the tidal mouth of a large river, where the salt water ocean tide meets the free flowing fresh water river. Shrimp begin their lives in these estuaries and marshes and remain in these habitats when they are very young because it’s safe and there is plenty of food. Shrimp grow very quickly, doubling in size every few weeks. When shrimp are almost full grown, they swim out of the estuaries and into the ocean.
To gain access to the ocean when it is time to migrate, shrimp have Bogue Inlet to the west, a shallow inlet with constantly shifting sandbars that separates the Town of Emerald Isle and Bear Island and Bogue Sound to the east. For estuaries, shrimp have ,the White Oak River to the north and Queens Creek and the marshes behind Hammocks Beach State Park down to Camp Lejeune to the west. This variety of habitat — sandbars, oyster rocks, shallow flats, deep holes and winding channels — provides preferred haunts for a wide variety of shrimp.
Shrimp are considered an annual crop because they do not live very long — only about two years. The amount of shrimp caught off the coast of Emerald Isle varies from year to year, depending on the weather. Mild, dry winters produce abundant, plump shrimp. If we have a very cold winter, the shrimp will be smaller in number [population] the following spring. If we have lots of rain, then the shrimp will be smaller in size a result of their migrating out into the ocean before they are fully grown.
Shrimp are the second most economically important fishery in North Carolina. Most of these shrimp were caught with trawl nets in our sounds, ocean and rivers.
NC Shrimp are of three species.
Brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus) are North Carolina’s most abundant shrimp species and support a major commercial fishery along our central and southern coastline. Brown shrimp are spawned in the ocean and carried by tides and wind-driven currents into our estuaries in late winter and early spring.
Most brown shrimp are caught in the summer and have a maximum life span of 18 months. They can grow as large as nine inches. Brown shrimp account for 67% of North Carolina’s shrimp landings. And, for my taste, carolina brown shrimp are the best tasting shrimp available, anywhere!
White shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus), or green tails, are the second-most abundant species in North Carolina. White shrimp are spawned in the ocean and are carried by tides and wind-driven currents into our estuaries from March to November.
White shrimp are harvested primarily in the fall. These shrimp have a maximum life span of 24 months and they can grow as large as eight inches. White shrimp account for 28% of North Carolina’s shrimp landings.
Pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum), or spotted shrimp, are spawned in the ocean April through July and then carried by tides and wind-driven currents into our estuaries where they overwinter.
Pink shrimp are harvested in the spring and the fall, and have a maximum life span of 24 months. They can grow as large as 11 inches. Pink shrimp account for 5% of North Carolina’s shrimp landings.
If you've never sampled a Carolina brown shrimp, you haven't tasted shrimp. Eat a plate of peel 'n eat and you will no longer be satisfied with the frozen Thai shrimp sold at Costco and served at most inland seafood restaurants.
After a day of house hunting in and around Emerald Isle, visit my fishmonger, Capt'n Willis' Seafood, and purchase some brown shrimp to delight and refresh your soul. I recommend Jeffrey Steingarten's salt and pepper shrimp recipe. Call or text me at 919-308-2292 or send me an email to: DRaczkowski@fathomrealty.com and I'll send you the recipe as tweaked by my wife.
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