Georgia Magazine - September 2020 - 38

GEORGIA Cooks

By Jane F. Garvey

Savoring Wild
Georgia Shrimp

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Georgia Magazine

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September 2020

Left: Shrimp boats
dock in Darien
after bringing in a
bountiful catch from
Georgia's coastal
waters. Above: Shrimp
are a popular crustacean
for humans as well as
sea life.

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OR

ne of the requisite elements of
traditional Georgia cuisine is
shrimp-specifically white
Wild Georgia Shrimp. Georgia white
shrimp populate the state's estuaries
and marshes and are snagged by
licensed shrimpers in the Atlantic
Ocean.
Among the planet's most
widely available crustaceans,
shrimp have different flavors, depending on the waters they inhabit.
But in addition to humans, wild sea
life, from fish to whales, feed on them.
So the demand for shrimp is high, and
that has led to farming them.
Farmed shrimp have
become widely available at low
prices, but there are environmental,
labor and health issues with farmed
shrimp. It's often nearly impossible to
know how or where that shrimp has been
farmed.
Save all raw
Wild-caught shrimp also have envishrimp shells in a
ronmental impacts, notably what's called
bag in the freezer
bycatch. This term refers to other species
that are caught in the trawling nets along
to make stock for
with the shrimp and are ultimately discardshrimp and grits,
ed. But in the shrimping industry, federally
shrimp bisque and mandated use of TEDs (turtle excluder device) and BRDs (bycatch reduction device)
other recipes.
have helped reduce bycatch damage.
John Wallace, owner of Anchored
Shrimp Co. in Brunswick, has been
shrimping since 1976. His company's Individually Quick Frozen
Wild Georgia Shrimp was named one of the finalists in this
year's University of Georgia Flavor of Georgia Food Product
Contest in the meats and seafood category. In the late 1990s
and early 2000s, Wallace served as the president of the Georgia
Shrimp Association.
"We started the Wild Georgia Shrimp certification program

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with the help of the University of Georgia's Marine
Extension Service," Wallace says. He says that Atlantic or Gulf white shrimp won't "adapt to farm-raised
environments," so what you purchase from Georgia
will be wild-caught.
While most shrimp in local supermarkets have
been frozen upon catch, if you can get some that
have never been frozen, the flavor is amazing. If you
are in Brunswick or Darien during shrimping season
(designated annually by the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources and running roughly mid-June
through December), search out fresh Wild Georgia
Shrimp.
A good opportunity to purchase such shrimp
is during the Blessing of the Fleet in Darien, held
annually in early April. Although the event was
canceled this year because of COVID-19, it is slated
for April 16-18, 2021. Come with an ice chest, and
be ready to head home immediately to cook your
purchase.
Jane F. Garvey is a food, wine and travel
freelance writer from Decatur.

Georgia Magazine - September 2020

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