In one way or another, our family has been involved in the shrimping industry since I can remember. When we were too young to work on the shrimp boats, we had summer jobs "heading" shrimp at the local processing plants.

Some family members worked on the shrimp boats as they got older. After high school as everywhere else, some went to college and others became involved with the local tourist industry, while others decided to remain with the sea.

Port Isabel, Texas, our hometown, was founded on the shrimping industry and for many years was referred to as the Shrimp Capital of the World. This was due to the number of vessels and annual shrimp catch.

Our Catholic Church pays tribute to the shrimping industry and to the Vaqueros Del Mar and their families that have born the spirit of the sea. The church is named "Our Lady Star of the Sea." According to the story, a Vaquero Del Mar found a small statue of the Mother Mary in the nets as they were pulled up at sea. The statue was brought and donated to the local parish—thus the name and legend.

Recent renovations to the Catholic Church include a mural dedicated to the sea, marine life, and shrimp boats painted at the very front and serves as a backdrop for the priest and worshippers to enjoy. To add to the scenery, a huge seashell has been added to pay due respect to South Padre Island, which is home to many winter Texans.

It seems that no matter how much time goes by, once the sea gets in your blood you will come back to it. Needless to say, this is a family-run operation and as any in other business, especially in this economy and after 9-11, things are tougher than any time before. We decided this Web site would allow us to provide our product directly to our customers. So you may enjoy the fresh Texas Gulf Shrimp, the Web site will connect us to you wherever you may be.

If our fellow Americans are hesitant to come to where the best shrimp in the world are, we will ship the best shrimp in the world to them. This way, they may have the best of everything—home, safety, and the best shrimp in the world.

If you can't tell by now, we are proud to be Texan, just as you are proud to be from where you are. We are members of the Go Texan campaign, which promotes Texas agricultural products not only to Texans, but also worldwide. The Go Texan logo is a certification mark of the Texas Department of Agriculture and can only be used by product members on products grown, processed, or manufactured in Texas.

We will keep hanging on and sailing along, despite the slow economy, the high fuel prices, the huge and overwhelming farm shrimp imports, and, of course, the never ending government rules and regulations that continue to add restrictions to our industry every year. We favor maintaining and protecting our marine life. However, this needs to be done in a manner where both the marine life and human life can prosper and continue to evolve together.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to know us and learn about our life and industry.