Port Isabel Shrimp Festival 2002
They came, They saw and They consumed...more shrimp than ever before.
Shrimp was the order of the day in Port Isabel in early November when thousands gathered for the annual festival of the shrimp, a local tradition that salutes the critter, the local commerce created by the critter, and all the human critters that depend upon shrimp for their livelihoods.
The Shrimping Industry pumps an average of $60 million dollars a year into the area's economy, and indirectly contributes to the creation of thousands of jobs throughout the county. Home to over 190 shrimp boats, the shrimp harvest at the Port of Brownsville and in Port Isabel places region fifth highest overall in the United States. As a world-class facility, it boasts all conceivable services vital to the shrimping industry. The Brownsville shrimp fleet, along with that of Port Isabel, makes the area the Shrimp Capital of the United States.
The Port Isabel Shrimp Festival celebrates the crustacean with a major annual cook off, and if you're fond of shrimp, there's no better place to be each November. From blackened to boiled, Caribbean shrimp to pecan encrusted varieties, shrimp - in its many delectable forms - is always in abundance.
The Texas shrimping industry has been hit hard economically in recent years greatly reducing the number of active shrimpers. But shrimping remains a primary focus of the lower Texas coast.
If it wasn't for the shrimping industry, what would they serve the fest?
