Destination Dixie Crossroads! A little background for your visit: Dixie Crossroads Shrimp Lore

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Dixie Crossroads is famous for shrimp ­ Reds, Whites, Pinks, Brownies, "Hoppers" and, of course, our trademark specialty ... Rock Shrimp, the sweetest little delicacy to ever come from the ocean.

One of Florida's most exciting rites of spring involves "dipping" shrimp during annual shrimp migrations. Armed with long-poled nets, coolers, elaborate lighting systems and even small generators, enthusiasts line up on bridges to wait for nightfall when travelling shrimp become visible as they pass through circles of light illuminating the dark water. Many shrimpers arrive in the early afternoon and sit for hours, guarding what they hope will be the most productive spot from which to scoop the elusive crustaceans.

Many species of shrimp lead a dual life, spending the first part of their time inshore and the remainder in the open ocean. Hatched at sea, juvenile shrimp spend the early part of their lives as drifting oceanic plankton. Within 2 weeks after hatching, young shrimp become active swimmers. They instinctively move toward shore, navigating through inlets and into shallow estuarine nursery areas. Florida's most important nursery grounds include the Indian River Lagoon system and the St. Johns River on the East Coast, and Charlotte Harbor, Estero Bay, Tampa Bay and the vast inshore waters near Appalachicola on the Gulf of Mexico. The shrimp increase in size very rapidly, especially when water temperatures are warm. As the shrimp grow, they move gradually seaward, presumably in response to salinity. Near spawning time, adult shrimp move out of estuarine waters in large numbers (called "runs"), heading for inlets in order to return to the ocean to spawn.

The products of these runs are world famous: Key West Pinks, Texas Browns, Georgia Whites, and Cape Canaveral Browns, to name a few. At Dixie Crossroads you can taste the same shrimp that the midnight dippers work so hard to catch ­ and you don't have to spend a chilly night dangling over a bridge railing to get them.

Our fresh shrimp comes from a fleet of over 25 full time commercial shrimpers. The shrimp are stored then cleaned by hand at our local processing plant, Cape Canaveral Shrimp Company. As various species are seasonal, Dixie Crossroads serves different shrimp throughout the year, depending on what is available at the time. It is quite a challenge to estimate how much of a particular type of shrimp must be put away in order to last until the next one comes in season. In a typical year, Dixie Crossroads will serve up to 7 or more different kinds of domestic shrimp.

Summer:

Rock Shrimp start showing up in the Gulf of Mexico on a little piece of bottom located south of the rustic Florida Panhandle town of Appalachicola around the middle of May. Rock Shrimp usually appear off Florida's East Coast in June. They begin their lives, as do many other valuable commercially harvested species, in the unique Oculina reef system. Unlike many species of soft shrimp, they do not use inshore waters as a nursery. The juvenile shrimp grow rapidly, moving further offshore to deeper water where the currents of the Gulfstream sweep them north. Rock Shrimp boats work steadily at night all summer long, many coming from as far away as Texas and North Carolina. Some of the Gulf boats are quite large, more than 110' long, capable of dragging four 40' flat nets at one time. Fishing pressure on Rock Shrimp is intense.

Historically, Rock Shrimp were found as far up the East Coast as Virginia. Due to over-fishing, they now rarely make it much further north than Cape Canaveral. Dixie Crossroads owner, Rodney Thompson, began a campaign to halt destructive bottom-trawling in the nursery grounds within the Oculina coral reefs, as well as institute a management plan for Rock Shrimp, in 1994. Initially, he was met with major resistance from captains, boat-owners and owners of fish-houses. As catch rates crashed at an alarming rate, the people who depend on Rock Shrimp became more supportive. In 2001, a new precedent was set when they sat down together to draw up a management plan, which the South Atlantic Fisheries Council unanimously approved. It was the first time a group of fishermen not only agreed that management was necessary -- they produced their own blueprint for doing so. Through conservation, stocks of this unique little hard-shelled delicacy, "the shrimp that tastes like lobster", should recover.

Mid-summer brings the first of the Cape Canaveral Golden Brown Shrimp. Harvested from mud bottom well out in the ocean, Brown Shrimp have a very firm texture and a mild salty taste due to their preference for higher salinity. Like other shrimp, they start out small (40 to 50 shrimp per pound) and grow rapidly, reaching an impressive U/15 count (15 shrimp or less per pound) by late fall. Cape Canaveral Golden Brown Shrimp are Dixie's premier shrimp. By late summer the Texas Brown Shrimp arrive. Caught in very muddy bottom in the Gulf of Mexico well off the Texas Coast, they are similar in taste to the Cape Canaveral Golden Brown Shrimp, however, like other Gulf shrimp species, Texas Brown Shrimp do not have the nice firm texture of Florida's East Coast Browns. Brown shrimp are active at night, burrowing into the ocean bottom during the daytime.

Fall:

When November Northeasters start to blow, White Shrimp leave the bays and sounds of South Carolina, Georgia and North Florida, heading for the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike Brown Shrimp, White Shrimp do not move into deep water far from the coast after migrating from inshore to offshore waters. Instead they move parallel to the shoreline ­ southward in fall and early winter and northward in late winter and early spring. They move down the coast of Florida seeking warmer water, ending their journey on vast shoals just offshore of Cape Canaveral. When you observe shrimp boats fishing in the daytime right off of our beaches, they are dragging for white shrimp. Due to their preference for more brackish, low salinity waters, White Shrimp are sweet and tender -- the preferred choice of shrimp boat captains and local coastal residents. Many consider White Shrimp to be Florida's finest-tasting shrimp. During early fall, Rock Shrimp continue to grow, and their fishing season peaks. By late fall the big trawlers are gone, leaving behind a handful of smaller boats who scrap for pockets of Rock Shrimp the rest of the fleet passed by.

Winter:

Fishing continues for White Shrimp, Brown Shrimp and Rock Shrimp off the East Coast of Florida, although the catches are small due to inclement weather and earlier fishing pressure. A few hardy souls drag way off the shores of Texas and Louisiana scrapping for Brown Shrimp despite the fact that winter weather is miserable in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Near the end of winter, Pink Shrimp begin their migration from Florida Bay to offshore waters west of the Florida Keys.

Spring:

Night dragging for Pink Shrimp is in full swing off of Florida's Southwest Coast. Pink Shrimp seem to prefer higher salinities and course bottoms of coral mud or sand and shell, which they burrow into during the day. Rock Shrimp catches dwindle to a mere trickle and become non-existent by mid-March. Declining payloads make the more difficult Royal Red Shrimp fishery more attractive to shrimpers. Those captains with large boats that are capable of working in this rugged fishery rig up their deepwater gear and head offshore.

Royal Reds move up and down the continental shelf, preferring a specific temperature zone that is usually found around the 200-fathom curve (2400 feet deep). Ranging roughly 40-60 miles out from Jacksonville to Ft Pierce, Royal Red shrimpers work just inside the strongest flowing currents of the Gulfstream, enduring tides that average 3-5 knots. Royal Reds are also found about 100 miles west of Key West, as well as below the mouth of the Mississippi River. The boats tow two big flat-nets, one from each side of the vessel. They pull against the tide, operating engines near full throttle in order to maintain headway. Fuel bills for Royal Red shrimpers are much higher than those of inshore fishermen.

Each net requires more than 1.5 miles of cable in order to drag the bottom at the extreme depths in which the vessels operate. A shrimp boat can overturn very quickly in conditions like these when a net hangs. The mired net acts as an anchor, causing the boat to pivot sideways in the tide. The swift moving current then pushes the anchored boat over. Once the gunwale submerges, the disabled vessel quickly fills with water and sinks. The crew must react quickly to cut the cable leading to the anchored net, abandoning thousands of dollars worth of gear on the ocean bottom. Lost gear further adds to the expense of working in this fishery. Compounding the risks, Royal Redders fish in major shipping lanes, continually dodging freighters as they work. The end product of their heroic efforts has a unique taste and tender texture that you won't find in any other shrimp.

In early April, small brown shrimp fall out of the bays and estuaries of Florida's Central Gulf Coast. Nicknamed "Hoppers" by the shrimpers due to the way they flip and jump when the net empties on the boat-deck, these relatives of the Key West Pink Shrimp are sweeter than their southern cousins.

We invite you to return often to enjoy each of these unique Native Florida Specialties.

The Thompson Family