Flagler Beach Grounded Shrimp Boat Latest in Hardships for Local Fisherman

UPDATE: A GoFundMe has been established to help Capt. Corey Thomas in the aftermath of the damages to his boat, the Miss Montie.

Captain Corey Thomas was with one friend and a dog when the motor cut out on the Miss Montie, their 50-foot shrimp boat off the coast of North Florida on Sunday. The crew attempted to stabilize their boat by dropping anchor, but the anchor unfortunately broke causing them to drift helplessly in the ocean. This occurred about 26 miles north of the boat’s eventual resting place near the Beverly Beach/Flagler Beach city limit at 6:00 pm Sunday.

The crew on board was rescued by the United States Coast Guard and taken to dry land before the ship grounded. Once it arrived on local shores, it was searched by the Flagler Beach Fire Department who stated Sunday evening that they found nothing. Plans are currently in motion to tow the boat in the coming days. Thomas said they launched from St. Augustine. The failure doesn’t appear to have been the fault of the crew.

On Monday morning a crowd of locals were gathered around the Miss Montie, mostly taking pictures of the rare Flagler Beach shipwreck. The boat isn’t a total loss, Thomas said – with a new motor and repairs to the propeller it should be good to go. But still, the novelty of a grounded shrimp boat was enough to draw a crowd.

Many who assembled to take in the scene met Thomas. Some told him how fascinating and cool they found the incident. Thomas understandably disagreed. For him, it was the latest blow in a series of hardships facing the community of shrimpers doing business in local waters. The financial hardship of this grounding (friends of Thomas are considering starting a GoFundMe) pales in comparison to the trend of imported shrimp undercutting people like him.

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Local vs. Imported Shrimp

Corey Thomas said Monday that he’s a fourth-generation fisherman. The practice started with his great-grandfather in the late 1800’s, who fished out of Mayport, Florida – the exact location inscribed across the stern of the Miss Montie. He says his nephew is the fifth generation to take up the practice, but that he anticipates the vocation won’t be sustainable for his family after that.

“It affects us because they’re coming in here so cheap,” Thomas said. “The restaurants can get them so cheap and we can’t compete with that.” According to the conservation nonprofit Oceana, imported shrimp accounts for 90% of what makes it to American consumers. Over half of that bulk is raised in mangrove ponds converted for shrimp farming, which is potentially devastating to one of the most important coastal ecosystems.

Beyond the environmental concern, these farms are believed to be harmful to rural communities in Asia and South America which rely on mangrove forests for food and livelihood. The issue has raised political strife connected to killings in countries like Bangladesh and Guatemala. Additionally, as Capt. Thomas pointed out, imported shrimp have been found to contain known cancer-causing antibiotics which are outlawed in food animals in the United States. So what can the average consumer do about the issue?

“Ask where [your] shrimp comes from,” Thomas implored. “Demand, because they will lie to you, demand to know where your shrimp comes from. Tell them you want local shrimp. There’s local shrimp to be had, I know there is. These local restaurants can support shrimpers by serving local shrimp. It might be a little more expensive, but would you rather eat cheap seafood that you don’t know where it comes from, or would you rather pay a few more cents for something that you know is gonna be a lot better quality, a lot better for you, tastes a lot better, and supports your local community?”