Lowcountry Cuisine Spring 2018

lowcountry cuisine LC 33 www.LowcountryCuisineMag.com | www.CharlestonRecipes.com A mong the many lessons learned from the movie “Forrest Gump” is that shrimping is a tough industry. It’s an all-too familiar reality for local shrimp boat owners grappling with one of the worst shrimping seasons in recent memory in South Carolina and struggling to keep up with rising costs and competition from overseas in an industry that has been declining for at least the last decade. According to Greg Herald, owner of Palmetto Tide Shrimp, most people don’t realize the hard work that goes into shrimping – the costs, the time and the risks – and unless changes are made soon, he fears for the future of this industry that has defined the Lowcountry for generations. THE SHRIMP SELLER On Ben Sawyer Boulevard in Mount Pleasant, between My Father’s Moustache and Publix, Herald sells fresh shrimp from his little stand, no more than a white folding table, a tent and large white coolers filled with shrimp that sit in the back of his pickup. A colorful banner blows in the breeze and alerts drivers on their way to Sullivan’s Island to stop and pick up a pound or more of fresh shrimp. Herald can be found at his stand Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – unless he runs out of shrimp before then. Tall, with a trim white beard, he has a friendly demeanor and engages in small talk with his customers while weighing each bag of shrimp on a small scale. “I take pains to make sure the shrimp is right and fresh and the way it should be,” he said. Originally from North Carolina, Herald moved to Mount Pleasant more than 20 years ago and lives in the Old Village. He worked in the construction business but two years ago went in with three other people and bought a shrimp boat based out of Shem Creek, The Lady Page. The shrimp season that started in April 2016 and lasted until Feb. 2017 was an unusually long season that yielded plentiful catches. “They were used to catching 5,000 to 6,000 pounds per week,” Herald said. “Now some boats are lucky to get 200 or 300 pounds per day.” With this year’s numbers dramatically down, Herald sold his share of the boat to focus on selling shrimp at one of his five stands – three in Mount Pleasant, one in Rock By Pamela Brownstein Pink on the Horizon? The Future of Shrimp