In northeast, Florida we all talk about "Mayport" shrimp. Mayport is a coastal village north of St. Augustine and east of Jacksonville on the St. Johns River right where it meets with the Atlantic Ocean. That makes getting out to the ocean and to the shrimp a breeze. It is home to about 20 of the state's shrimping boats. However, St. Augustine is located on the Intracoastal (called "the river" by the locals) at the St. Augustine inlet. In fact, I believe you can get to the Atlantic faster from St. Augustine.

The difference between Mayport and St. Augustine shrimp---the port the shrimp boat comes into to unload the shrimp. All the shrimp boats in the area troll off the coast, so they are covering the same area. They are a lovely sight to see off the coast along A1A from Jacksonville to Ponte Vedra Beach to S. Ponte Vedra Beach to North Beach to Vilano Beach to St. Augustine Beach to Crescent Beach---you get the idea. It seems that all the shrimp caught in the area are called "Mayport" shrimp. What do your think?

So, if you want really fresh shrimp, eat locally caught shrimp while vacationing in northeast Florida. Four types of shrimp live in the waters off the coast here: brown, white, pink and rock shrimp. Brown and white shrimp make up the majority of what is caught here. Those of us that are fortunate to live here, enjoy fresh seafood year round.

Here's a photo I took recently of a shrimp boat heading out to the Atlantic in the early morning. It came into the St. Augustine inlet when the surf and wind were rough. It is passing Porpoise Point near Vilano Beach.