Lone Star Menu: Tastes of Texas

Surf and Turf: Seafood

Geography often influences cuisine, and the location of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico offers opportunities for fishing for fun and for food. While many varieties of fish are available, shrimp are the star of the show. The coastal waters and bays feed more than Texans. A robust commercial shrimping industry that started in the 1940s soon became one of the leading producers of shrimp in the country. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division manages the marine fishery resources of Texas's four million acres of saltwater and takes recommendations from a Shrimp Advisory Committee.

Shrimp boat in Palacios, undated. Texas Department of Agriculture photograph collection, 2001/078-118-86-010.
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Texas Seafood Recipes from Famous Chefs and Seafood Restaurants in Texas, 1989. TX Documents, A900.8 SE 12.
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The Texas Department of Agriculture identified 22 restaurants serving excellent seafood and requested that each provide a popular recipe for this 1989 publication. Texas Crab Cakes, Shrimp Etouffee, Oysters Ponzini, and Pescado a la Veracruzana are a few sample dishes from Crab-N Restaurant (Aransas Pass), The Depot Restaurant and Bar (Lubbock), Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant (Galveston), and Forti’s Mexican Elder (El Paso).

“Texas Seafood Buyer’s Guide,”1991. TX Documents, A900.5 T312seb 1991. Click or tap on image to view larger version.

The Texas Department of Agriculture coordinated with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas seafood industry to compile information for businesses purchasing seafood wholesale to promote the state’s providers of seafood products.

Hooked on Seafood: A Compilation of Texas’ Best, 1993. TX Documents, Z TA465.7 SE11 No. 93-501.
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Seafood Consumer Education Specialist for the Texas Marine Advisory Service Annette Reddell Hegen produced this seafood cookbook published by the Sea Grant Program at Texas A&M University. In addition to recipes, the publication contains helpful hints on cooking with seafood.

Texas Shrimpers: Community, Capitalism, and the Sea, 1983. TX Documents, Z TA465.7 SE11 No. 84-805.
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Author Robert Lee Maril interviewed shrimpers and even worked as one for a time while researching this book on the shrimping industry in Texas.

"Texas Shrimp Jubilee, part 1,” Texas Parks & Wildlife, December 1966. Shrimp, Vertical File. Click or tap on image to view larger version.

First part of a summary history of Texas shrimping in the magazine for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The article mentions that the shrimpers who found a batch of brown shrimp off the coast from Port Isabel in 1940 thought they were spoiled because of the dark coloring. Shrimpers would later return to the brown shrimp as a leading product of the industry in Texas.

Correspondence, Robert Mauermann, Executive Secretary of the Texas Shrimp Association, to Mr. Howard Lee of the Texas Coastal and Marine Council, October 31, 1973. Gen. Information, Texas Coastal and Marine Council Records, 1989/157-25.
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Governments of all levels become involved in industries such as shrimping. The Texas Shrimp Association is an organization that raises awareness about the importance of Texas gulf shrimp. In this letter, the association expressed opposition to proposed federal legislation that would extend the U.S. fishery jurisdiction citing the timing.

Fishery Market News Report 0-80, Tri-Weekly Report, July 12, 1985. National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Reports, Texas Bay Shrimp Industry, Texas Coastal and Marine Council records, 1989/157-29. Click or tap on image to view larger version.

This government report provides up-to-date information about gulf shrimp landings in specific areas of a number of states, including Texas, in a 48-hour period.

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