A Brief History of Shrimping in Florida

Image courtesy of Chad Stembridge via Unsplash

How Shrimp became a Florida Staple

At Timoti’s we love wild-caught shrimp, and for good reason: it’s delicious and pairs well with many side dishes for a hearty meal, including corn and mac and cheese. Shrimp is also healthy as it provides Selenium and Iodine — minerals that promote thyroid health. It’s important because many people suffer from a deficiency of Iodine.

Whether you’re feeling shellfish or not, shrimping itself has quite the interesting history in Florida.

You’d think Amelia Island is known only for its beautiful beaches, but it’s actually historically known for kickstarting the shrimping industry in Florida. The industry began in Fernandina Beach in the early 1900s, when a young Italian immigrant arrived from Sicily and launched the tasty crustaceans into a commercial empire right off the coast of Northeast Florida.

Mike Salvador: A Shrimper in Florida

That Italian immigrant was Salvatore Sollecito. After coming to the United States, Sollecito eventually changed his name to Mike Salvador. He would soon become a leader in the shrimping industry in Florida. 

A seaman, Salvador was familiar with shrimp due to its popularity in Europe. Most fishermen gathered shrimp by catching them with nets that were tossed from rowboats. Due to the challenge of keeping it fresh, seafood carried a short shelf-life and no one knew how to actually cook shrimp. Thus, Salvador began to experiment with ways to effectively capture and transport them.

Salvador became the first to successfully use a powerboat with a larger net designed for catching larger volumes of shrimp. He also used refrigerated rail carts to ship the shrimp, which helped to preserve them.

Starting a Family Shrimping Business

In 1906, Salvador started his shrimping business with the help of his brothers-in-law, Salvatore Versaggi and Antonio Poli, and their friend, Joseph Gianino, in Fernandina.

They quickly learned that even with increased catching of shrimp, there wasn’t a market for it. Versaggi eventually moved to New York, where he made fish market contacts for distribution of Salvador shrimp catches. 

Slowly, demand for shrimp increased and Fernandina Beach, Florida eventually became known as the birthplace of America’s shrimping industry. By 1919, the industry was booming with competition and new fishermen from around the world. These newcomers would continue to expand on shrimping methods, including shrimping pioneer Billy Corkum, who created the Otter net, which allowed the gathering of larger shrimp found offshore.

Recognition of Shrimping in Florida

Thanks to Salvador’s hard work and innovative spirit, he modernized the shrimping industry into what it is today. He also earned the title of “Father of the Shrimping Industry.”

Salvador’s contribution to Florida was forever cemented when he was included in the Great Floridians 2000 program, an honor designed to distinguish individuals who enhanced the lives of Florida’s citizens.

St. Augustine even named wild-caught shrimp as its official seafood as a nod to Versaggi’s family, who expanded the shrimping industry there.

Visit Timoti’s Seafood Shak

Whether you live in Fernandina or you’re just visiting for a fun weekend, what better way to remember Mike Salvador’s legacy than with a shrimp-filled meal! 

Visit either Timoti’s Seafood Shak locations—Fernandina or Nocatee—for some fresh shrimp today!