Lowcountry Shrimp Season: Where to Eat, Buy & Catch Fresh Local Shrimp

The Lowcountry’s wild-caught white shrimp are at their peak. Here’s where to eat them, buy them and celebrate them.

Story by Lance Hanlin

The Lowcountry’s commercial white shrimp season heats up in late August and stretches through December, with September and October delivering the biggest catches of the year. In favorable seasons, local shrimpers may even stay on the water into early January. Harvested from the pristine waters of our creeks, rivers and Atlantic coast, these wild-caught shrimp are prized for their firmness, sweet flavor and exceptional quality. Whether you’re buying them straight off the dock, ordering them at your favorite restaurant or celebrating them at one of the region’s signature festivals, there’s no better time to enjoy one of the Lowcountry’s greatest culinary treasures.

Lowcountry Shrimp Festivals: Celebrate Shrimp Season

Shrimp season comes with its own festival circuit, giving locals and visitors plenty of chances to sample the Lowcountry’s signature seafood. It all begins Sept. 19 at the Hilton Head Island Shrimp Festival in Harbour Town, where more than 15 local chefs serve creative shrimp dishes alongside craft beer, live music and family-friendly activities. In October the celebration spreads across the Lowcountry with the Beaufort Shrimp Festival (Oct. 2-3) at Waterfront Park and the Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival (Oct. 9-18) in Old Town Bluffton, each showcasing fresh local seafood, live entertainment and the communities that have built their traditions around the water.

The festivities continue Nov. 6-7 at the Hilton Head Oyster Festival, where fresh local shrimp share the spotlight with oysters, before wrapping up with the Hilton Head Island Seafood Festival (Feb. 22-28), a weeklong celebration of the chefs, fishermen and coastal traditions that define the Lowcountry. Together these festivals offer more than good times and great food. They celebrate the shrimpers, chefs and coastal traditions that have shaped the Lowcountry for generations.

Take a Shrimp Boat Tour on Hilton Head Island

Few experiences bring you closer to the Lowcountry’s shrimping heritage than stepping onto a working shrimp boat. Departing from Harbour Town in Sea Pines, Vagabond Cruise’s Shrimp Trawling Expedition aboard the Tammy Jane takes guests behind the scenes of a commercial shrimping operation as the crew deploys the trawl nets, hauls them back aboard and sorts through shrimp, blue crabs, fish and other marine life. Along the way, you’ll learn how the region’s tidal creeks and salt marshes support one of the East Coast’s richest fisheries and why sustainable harvesting helps protect this valuable resource. If the crew lands enough shrimp, you’ll even take some home. Trips begin at $45 per person, making it one of the most authentic ways to experience the Lowcountry’s working waterfront.

How to Catch Your Own Shrimp in South Carolina

Want to catch dinner yourself? Recreational shrimpers use two popular methods: deep-hole shrimping and shrimp baiting. Both require the proper South Carolina licenses and have a daily limit of 48 quarts of whole shrimp. Deep-hole shrimping is most productive from October through December, when cooling water pushes white shrimp into deeper channels. Using sonar to locate a school, shrimpers cast a 10- to 14-foot net that sinks quickly before hauling in the catch. Shrimp baiting begins each September during South Carolina’s 60-day baiting season. Shrimpers place clay-and-menhaden bait balls beside marker poles at low tide, then cast their nets as the rising tide draws shrimp to the bait. It’s one of the Lowcountry’s favorite fall traditions and a rewarding way to experience the region’s shrimping heritage firsthand.

Learn Cast-Net Shrimping on Hilton Head Island

Watching an experienced waterman throw a cast net is like watching an artist at work. With a single smooth motion, the circular net opens into a perfect disc before settling over the water, trapping shrimp beneath it. Outside Hilton Head’s Lowcountry Shrimping Experience lets guests learn this generations-old skill during a three-hour excursion from Shelter Cove Harbour & Marina. Offered September through November, the trip explores scenic tidal creeks while guides teach the fundamentals of cast-net fishing, explain shrimp behavior and help guests search for productive shrimping holes. Along the way, you’ll learn how tides, currents and the salt marsh ecosystem influence where shrimp gather, giving you a deeper appreciation for the waters that sustain the Lowcountry’s commercial and recreational shrimping traditions. The private experience accommodates up to four people for $625. Whether you’re hoping to master a new skill or simply enjoy a memorable morning on the water, it’s one of the most hands-on ways to experience shrimp season.

When Is Shrimp Season in South Carolina?

One of the easiest ways to enjoy the freshest shrimp is to order what’s in season. While many Lowcountry restaurants proudly serve South Carolina wild-caught shrimp, the species on the menu changes throughout the year. Knowing the harvest seasons helps you recognize when you’re most likely to enjoy shrimp that were caught in local waters. Whenever you dine out, ask whether the shrimp are local and wild-caught. Restaurants committed to regional sourcing are usually happy to tell you where that day’s catch came from.

May-June: Roe white shrimp are large, sweet and highly prized, but their commercial season is brief.

June-August: Brown shrimp are the stars of summer, prized for their firm texture and rich, savory flavor. At many local restaurants they’re simply advertised as “local shrimp.”

Late August-December: Fall white shrimp are the Lowcountry’s signature harvest, with peak landings in September and October. This is the best time to order fresh local shrimp.

January-April: Fresh local shrimp are generally unavailable, so many restaurants rely on South Carolina shrimp frozen during the fall harvest or imported shrimp.

Where to Buy Fresh Local Shrimp in Hilton Head, Bluffton & Beaufort

Nothing beats taking home shrimp that were swimming just hours earlier. When shopping, look for the words “South Carolina Wild-Caught Shrimp,” or simply ask where the shrimp came from. During peak white shrimp season, many seafood markets can even tell you which boat landed that day’s catch. Whether you’re planning a Lowcountry boil, firing up the grill or stocking the freezer, these are some of the best places to find fresh local shrimp.

Hilton Head Island: Benny Hudson Seafood, Barnacle Bill’s, Piggly Wiggly, South End Seafood, Spanish Wells Seafood & Produce

Bluffton: Bluffton Oyster Co., Russo’s Fresh Seafood, Lowcountry Fresh

Beaufort area: Sea Eagle Market, Gay Fish Company, Bradley Seafood Market

Ridgeland: Captain Mike’s Bluewater Seafood, Bolan Hall Seafood, Fiddler’s Seafood Market