Where did it go? Shrimp Fleet at Aransas Pass... (Corpus Christi: insurance, buying)

[CptnRn]

Last time we visited the area, spring before last, most of the shrimp boats were gone from the large harbor (Conn Brown Harbor?) at Aransas Pass. I always enjoyed stopping to look at the boats during the middle of the day, have they moved someplace else? Something about working boats has always interested me. I like the rough and ready looks of them.

Looking at the harbor in google maps it is pretty empty.

[CptnRn]

Ahhh, I did a newsearch and found several articles about the make over.

Conn Brown Harbor in Aransas Pass Gets Makeover - KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

The City of Aransas Pass has spent nearly a million dollars over the past several years cleaning up Conn Brown Harbor. The harbor has undergone an extreme makeover of sorts.

Aransas Pass used to be known as the shrimping capital of the world, and there were some 300 commercial shrimping boats in Conn Brown harbor, but as hard times fell on the industry, many folks quit the business and simply left their boats behind, turning the harbor into a real eyesore; a place filled with abandoned and sunken boats.

At one point, the City says there were some 47 boats that had been left behind in the harbor.

...

The City said there are now only three commercial shrimping boats in the harbor, and while shrimping will always be a part of the community, the goal is to transition the harbor into a recreational destination; a place for boaters and tourists.

I can see how the location does have great promise for a recreational boating destination.

[Westerntraveler]

Im gonna miss those boats as I am very familiar with Conn Brown.I fish at Conn Brown with my family but whenever I get my own boat i wont fish there anymore....thats for sure.

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Last time we visited the area, spring before last, most of the shrimp boats were gone from the large harbor (Conn Brown Harbor?) at Aransas Pass. I always enjoyed stopping to look at the boats during the middle of the day, have they moved someplace else? Something about working boats has always interested me. I like the rough and ready looks of them.

Looking at the harbor in google maps it is pretty empty.

The Turtle Protectors made the Shrimpers use nets with large holes to avoid harming the turtles.
There's scuttlebutt is that oil and industry made the shrimp go away.

[jbtx]

The Turtle Protectors made the Shrimpers use nets with large holes to avoid harming the turtles.

This is a false statement. It is called a Turtle Excluder and it does not effect the operation of a shrimp trawl. Shrimpers are more clever than you seem to think. Images of the device can be seen here: turtle excluder device - Bing Images

There's scuttlebutt is that oil and industry made the shrimp go away.

There have been offshore oil wells here in our Gulf of Mexico for almost 100 years without harming the shrimp nurseries or the harvest of adult gulf shrimp. "Industry" is a very broad term, I'd be curious as to what/which industry you refer to.
<sarc on>Damn those industries that provide decent good paying jobs that support our families, we need to run them all off so we can starve in the sunshine. <sarc off>

[RockyMtnr]

That's all very nice - but there are no shrimpers down here hardly but a lot of ex-shrimpers - and the ones that are left still blame the nets.
The rest of the folks still blame all the tailings and tailing ponds from the Aluminum and other plants lining the Bay shores.
On occasion, we see a nice, big, new shrimp-boat start hanging at the Aransas Pass Harbor - which is welcome - and the two big Cat-Shrimpers (it's about the boat, not the shrimp) operating off the Island - which is where I live - still manage to cull quite the harvest on a regular basis ... except, of course, during the oyster season which is now behind us.

[Traveller1976]

I am reviving a very old thread, because I came across it and have memories of Aransas Pass from around 1976. I was a young man about 29 years old, filled with ****-sure vim and vinegar. Being single, I had sold all I owned, bought a camper and began travelling the United States. The economy was bad, so most of the time, I was always hungry, low on gas and looking for a job. I found myself on the docks at Aransas Pass, totally awestruck with the number of shrimp boats lined up at the dock, three and four abreast. I asked the first boat I came to for a job and was told they didn't need any help, but that I should go aboard each boat I saw and ask. I climbed off and on more shrimp boats that I could count. One thing that stayed with me is the activity of each boats crew and the smell of the salt. Being from St. Pete Florida, the smell was not new to me, but the intensity of the smell was. I reckon it was from the nets and decks and the many years at sea. Eventually I climbed aboard the Captain V and introduced myself to Captain Virgil and his cook Pete. I discovered Captain V was from Daytona, and he hired me. I spent three weeks at sea aboard the Captain V and have some fond memories of those times. I was very comfortable with the water, but three weeks at sea was a new experience to me. I had fished, and scuba dived off shore from St. Pete a ton of times, but, nothing prepared me for three weeks at sea aboard a commercial shrimp boat. I threw-up the first three days. I worked hard for Captain V, and he will tell you I risked my life for his three weeks catch. (another story). All said and done, Captain Virgil was a fine Captain, Pete could out-cuss anyone I have ever known and out work most anyone I have ever known. I gained a lot of respect for those who fish for a living, and gained a lot more confidence in myself. Thank you Captain Virgil for the chance to sail with you. I remember that one night you told me "you can sail with me any time and any where." Thank you.....sorry we never did it again. I am saddened to read the shrimping industry is not what it used to be. Why must good things change?

[beckysdragonfly]

To Traveller1976, Do remember any of the names of the other commercial shrimp boats? I’m interested in one called the Night Train or maybe a variation of that name. It would have been active in the early 70’s. It would have shrimper along the Gulf Coast as far as Alabama. Email me [email]atbeckysdragonfly@gmail.com[/email] if you have any knowledge of this vessel.

[Traveller1976]

I did not notice the names of other boats and never met any crew from other boats. Sorry.

[jackalope48]

Bay shrimping has mostly died out. The old chains were heavily destructive to sea grass and plowed up most of the bay bottom which gradually reduced shrimp production. As they struggled maintenance lagged and the boats got to be an environmental problem in the Marinas they were in since the captains couldn't afford it. The state also instituted a license buy back program and stopped issuing new ones which people steadily took since the business became unprofitable due to lower production, farmed shrimp competition, and increases in fuel and insurance costs. For about the last decade in the Corpus Marina most of those guys were buying stuff from the deep sea guys and reselling it. The bait stand still runs a couple but they get more bycatch for bait than actual shrimp.