It’s been almost 100 years since Salvatore, the first Versaggi shrimper, founded the company his grandsons—Sal, Joe, John, and Fred—run today. When he started, no one thought much of shrimp. They were given away in bars, like peanuts or pretzels. Slowly but surely, America acquired an appetite for the shellfish, and business boomed.

Salvatore’s five sons took over from him and expanded the fleet to more than four dozen boats. They began with tiny 28-foot, wooden vessels. Now, the company uses six 75-foot trawlers with outrigger booms spread like seagulls’ wings, bowing under the weight of the nets.

All four brothers in the current generation started off working on the docks. By their teens, they knew their way around trawler cabins and refrigerated holds the way other boys know baseball diamonds. They could tend the nets, check the winches, and speak the shrimpers’ argot of “tickler chains” and “brine tanks,” “door skids” and “try nets.” Says John, “I would never think of doing anything else.”

Off the boat and in the kitchen, the Versaggis have experimented with ways to prepare their catch. With the help of all the family cooks, Uncle Manual collected 120 favorite recipes (including gumbo, étouffée, soups, and sauces) into a cookbook for relatives and friends.

Gathered around the table at Sal’s house overlooking Tampa Bay, the clan digs into a casserole loaded with wild-caught shrimp. As Sal spoons a huge portion onto a plate, his wife, Pam, leans over to kiss the cook. Apparently it’s a family tradition. Down the table, Joe says, “Someone once asked me, ‘What do you do when you fill the boat?’ I said, ‘Kiss the captain!’”

ALSO: Versaggi family shrimp recipes

To learn more about Certified Wild American Shrimp, visit wildamericanshrimp.com.