All About Biloxi Shrimping

If you’re a fan of Biloxi Shrimp Co.’s delicious Gulf shrimp, you may wonder how they’re caught. The art of shrimping has been an important cornerstone to the growth and vitality of our city for years, so allow us to provide you with a little history and insight into how we get our tasty shrimp to you!

Early Shrimping

Indigenous people in the Biloxi area certainly included shrimp in their diets, and evidence suggests their traps were created from branches, Spanish moss and other local plants. Cajun people in southern Mississippi are known to have caught shrimp using nets imported from France in the 1700s. Back in these times, shrimp were preserved by drying them in the sun.

Shrimp Trawls

The large nets pulled behind a shrimping boat are called trawls. These are wider at the front and taper toward the back to catch as many shrimp as possible. The mechanisms of trawls have improved over time, but the main type of trawl used for shrimping – the otter trawl – has been used along the Coast since the early 1900s. Otter boards attached to the mouth of the net keep it open as it's dragged near the ocean floor, where the shrimp are located, while weights and buoys help keep the trawl net open. Shrimp boats use a chain called a tickler chain that hangs in front of the net to move the shrimp into the trawl net.

Trawls used in the Gulf of Mexico are required to include sea turtle excluder and bycatch reduction devices, reducing the number of fish and larger ocean wildlife captured by the nets. Commercial fishing for wild-caught U.S. shrimp avoids areas with coral reefs to help preserve these vital underwater ecosystems. All of this goes hand-in-hand toward promoting sustainability.

Shrimp Boats

Technological innovation has led to significant improvements in shrimping over the years. When diesel engines started on shrimp boats during the 1920s, shrimpers were able to expand the scope of their harvests, venturing farther away from home. This innovation paved the way for power winches. Hauling in the trawls is tough work and requires a large crew when done by hand, but with motorized winches, nets can be retrieved with smaller crews.

Further structural innovations in boat and engine design made it possible for shrimpers to haul heavier nets and handle rougher seas. Electronic technologies, such as GPS and radar, help find shrimp more efficiently. All these developments combine to make shrimping more efficient than ever, while still improving with better technology.

Shrimp Processing

As shrimping became more prominent, canneries were built in Biloxi and became an important part of the economy. Biloxi shrimp were shipped around the world and grew in popularity. Nowadays, state-of-the-art processing operations provide clean, fresh frozen Gulf shrimp to restaurants, retail customers and private cooks globally. Modern frozen storage facilities and fast shipping methods send Gulf shrimp feasts straight to your table, no matter where you live. That includes us at Biloxi Shrimp Co.!

Click here to order a bundle of mouthwatering wild-caught shrimp for yourself!