Biloxi, MS Part II: Shrimping Trip

Biloxi, MS

The Gulf Coast area around Biloxi and Gulfport has a long heritage in commercial fishing. This area is known for its shrimp, so when we found out about the Biloxi Shrimping Trip, we knew we had to go.

The boat is a small excursion boat rather than a real shrimp boat, but it is fitted with a winch and a small trawl net at the stern.

The shrimping cruise takes place in Misissippi Sound. The area off the coast of Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico has a string of relatively small, widely-spaced barrier islands that are located 7 to 12 miles offshore. Because the islands are so small and far away, we tend to think of Biloxi as being located directly on the Gulf of Mexico. However, the water behind the barrier islands is known as Mississippi Sound.

There is one barrier island that is located less than half a mile offshore at its closest point, and that is Deer Island. The shrimping trip takes place only a couple hundred yards offshore in the protected water between the marina and Deer Island, which is shown in the photo below.

As the name suggests, Deer Island was once home to numerous deer. The first inhabitants of the area, the Biloxi Indians, used to hunt on the island.

As we left the marina, the captain started to explain how trawl nets work. The nets are dragged along the bottom, which is where shrimp tend to live. As we got a little farther out into the sound, the captain began deploying the net. The two flat objects hanging under the winch in the photo below are the trawl boards. These are attached near the opening of the net, and when dragged through the water, the trawl boards are mounted in such a way that they keep the mouth of the net open as they plane through the water.

Because shrimp live on or near the bottom, the yield can be increased by dragging a chain along the bottom ahead of the opening of the net.

Each spring, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources determines the starting date of the shrimping season in Mississippi waters. Shrimp must reach the minimum legal size of 68 shrimp per pound for the season to start. The usual date for Mississippi is around June 1, but it can vary. The season usually lasts until the end of December.

After we trawled for about half an hour, the captain began reeling in the net. As soon as the net broke the surface, we began to attract gulls.

The black rope to the left in the photo below is called the lazy line. It is attached to the bottom of the net and makes it possible to pull up the catch and release it from the bottom of the net without having to reel the whole net in.

The next photo shows our catch. One of the problems with a trawl is it is not selective. It will catch anything near the bottom in it's path. The shrimp are relatively small and brown-colored. There also were numerous varieties of fish in our catch. The large, round fish is a sting ray.

The captain carefully held the tail where the stinger is located so it wouldn't whip around while he held the ray up for photos.

With the sting ray out of the way, we could better see the rest of the catch. The captain went through all the catch and held up an example of each type of fish we caught. The captain then did what many commercial fishermen do - he stood aside and let the gulls come aboard. Gulls prefer fish to shrimp, and they'll clean out the fish first and leave the shrimp behind.

There are three varieties of shrimp in this area - pink, brown and white. The pinks are the predominant variety in the waters off Florida, and there aren't that many here. Browns are by far the most common variety. However, we were lucky enough to have caught a white shrimp because they are bigger and it was easier to see as the captain described it. White shrimp are actually brown, and they are named for light areas on the tip of the tail.

As we headed back to the marina, we were overtaken by a real shrimp boat. Since the Mississippi season hadn't started yet, we're guessing he was either over to the west off Louisiana where the season usually starts earlier or farther out in the Gulf in international waters.

It was almost 3:00 PM when we got off the boat, and we were quite hungry. We had read about a restaurant in Ocean Springs, which is the next town to the east, that was supposed to have good seafood. We headed there for an early dinner.

Aunt Jenny's Catfish Restaurant is in an old house located on Old Fort Bayou.

We started off with cole slaw and biscuits. As you can see, we had a nice view of some old live oak trees outside and of the bayou.

Margery had fried catfish, the house specialty, and after our shrimping trip, Paul was hungry for shrimp. We both had baked sweet potatoes, and the dinners were served with a hush puppy.

The cole slaw was so-so, but everything else was quite good. Dinners range in price from $10 for fried catfish and $12 for the shrimp to $13 to $15 for shrimp Creole and a combination platter. Prices may be just a little high, but you do get a lot to eat. They also have all-you-can eat catfish, shrimp and chicken for $1 to $1.50 more, but there was plenty with the regular dinner. Margery got 5 big pieces of catfish and Paul got 18 medium-size shrimp.

After dinner we made our way back to the motor home. We found even more to do in Biloxi, so look for our next post.

Comments

[homepage]

Everyone loves it whenever people get together and share thoughts. Great blog, continue the good work!