The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-03-06
SHRIMPING.
THE COASTWISE HAUNTS OF A
POPULAR OCEAN DELICACY.
Wherc the Canneries are Located
They are the Sea Chameleons-
Extensive Southern Fish
eries-Chinese Shrimpers.

Whoever has walked down Fulton
street on the way to the ferry must have
noticed temptingly displayed outside the
fish stalls quantities of small red OBJ. ects
which look for all the world like infant
Holsters. A Areporter stopped the other
day at one of these stalls, and asked the
proprietor to tell him something about
these ob ects, which of course were
shrimps.
"Certainly," said the dealer, as he
took one of the creatures between his
forefnger and thumb by the hard part
or shell, and ripping of the tail, ate it
with evident relish. "Shrimps arc
caught and eaten all over the world. In
our waters there are al least six different
varieties, ard the commouest one of the
lot, the L. Vulgaris. curiouslY enough,
is the kind 10 which the New ork
palate most kindly takes. The G. Iul-
garis is found both in the Atlantic and
Pac fc Oceans. On the east coast they
are found up North as far as Labrador.
In the months of May and June they
spawn in Chesapeake Bay, and are then
preferred By many.
1.-The shrimps most eaten in New
York and the south are about six inches
long, exclusive of the feelers. They are
caught along the coast in the warm
weather, but as soon as winter sets in
they move out into deeper water. Dur
ing the winter months, therefore, we get
most of our shrimps from the South.
Shrimps differ from lobs.ers in possess
s,,.r ~ n rovor rf f.honfrinp RI q linn tied
extent the color of their shells, accord
ing to their surroundings. They arc sea
chameleons, so to speak. Many shrimps
are obtained from the Jersey flats Bay
Ridge shore, and Long Island, where
men and boys make long nets from fine
muslin, and drag them over the bars.
Four or five thousand gallons are OBJ
tanned in this way from Bay Ridge alone
every year.
"rhe most important shrimp fisheries
are in the South. North Carolina is a
great shrimp country. and in Virginia
they are plenty up the bay and about the
York River. At Beaufort and New bern
many bushels are caught at one haul,
aud the price there is about fifty cents a
bushcl. In Virginia they bring at re-
tail from ten cents to a dollar quart.
In the neighborhood of Charleston the
shrimp fishing is the mort importunt Of
all, and the season lasts from March un-
til November. About dozen boats are
engaged in the business, and the hauling
is done at night when the tide is low,
for under these conditions the shrimps
seems to come in shore. The colorcd
people are fond of them. and they readily
sell at from ten to twenty-five cents by
the plate, sixty to the plate.
I'm the St. Mary's in Georgia shrimp
ing is good, and about 500 men are en-.
gagged in the business in that State.
Large quantities of the Georgia catch
are sent to Savannah and thence shipped
to New York. II the season is mild,
they csn be caught in Florida tho year
round. In the st. Augustine fishery
about 1000 barrels are ught yearly,
selling at fifteen cents plate in the
height of the season. New Orleans and
San Francisco are the great shrimp con-
tres. and immense quantities Of them ars
received OF those cities every year. At
several places in the South there ers
canning factories, where about half q
million half pound cans are turned out
yearly.
AT Tomales Bay in California there
are very extensive shrimp fisheries, car
ricd on almost entirely by the Chinese,
who send great quantities of the shell.
fish to hina and the Sandwich Islands.
Every day after the haul is made you
can see the shrimp dealers coming into
market with huge netted baskets filled
with the fish, on their backs. What
cannot be sold while fresh are put in
boiling brine and picked; afterward
beiug spread in the sun and dried. Then
they are trampled on by the wooden
shoes of the cinnamon, and thus the
meat is separated from the shell. the
former being shipped to China and the
latter being utilized for fertilizer. -
NeD York Post.