Big Shrimping

What does summer time on Goose Creek Island remind you of? Summer time reminds me of when the shrimp boats in Pamlico Sound make their way back to the docks on Friday mornings to unload their catch.  From the early 1950's to today, in the summer, it seemed like the whole island revolved around shrimping.  The Landing (at Eastman's Creek) and R.E. Mayo’s would be crowded with shrimp trawlers anxiously awaiting Sunday evening to come so they could steam out to Pamlico Sound and ‘set out’ again. 

Out in the Sound, the boys would work during the night and then “lay up” and sleep during the day.  Their travels would take them to different places in the Sound.  Places such as ‘back of the beach’, ‘other side the bluff’, ‘mouth of Bay River’, Royal Shoals and other points east littered their talk on the VHF or CB radio.  After that last sunrise drag on Friday morning, the boats would head for home.

Being out on Pamlico Sound for a week was just one facet of the shrimping business.  The real business of shrimping came when the boats came to the dock on Friday mornings to unload.  Most of the fish houses were in full gear on Friday’s.  While crew members and captains pulled their catches from the holds of their boats, a whole different operation was taking place inside the fish house.

Water, ice, boxes, fork lifts, pallets were scattered throughout the house, while workers stood at grading tables, popping the heads of the crustaceans.  Blue aprons, gloves and white boots dotted the fish house landscape.  Most of the workers heading shrimp were the wives and children of fishermen in the community.  Some workers came from nearby Mesic and helped.  A day’s pay depended on how many buckets of shrimp you headed. 

Although the large shrimping operations on the island have changed, R.E. Mayo’s is still heading shrimp on Friday mornings. There are many of us today who have witnessed the heyday of big shrimping on Goose Creek Island.  If you are ever near Hobucken on Friday mornings, stop by R.E. Mayo’s and see Birdie and Carol Potter.  They’ll be glad you stopped in and you will see how they are continuing a part of our Island culture.