09/15/2026
If you've eaten Royal Red shrimp in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach and thought they tasted different from ordinary Gulf shrimp, you weren't imagining it.
These things live in an entirely different world.
Royal Reds are deep-water shrimp found along the edge of the continental shelf. Alabama seafood sources describe fishermen targeting them at depths of roughly 1,200 to 1,800 feet.
That's more than a quarter-mile beneath the surface in some fishing areas.
Down there, the water is cold and dark, and Royal Reds develop their unmistakable deep reddish color before they're ever cooked.
Catching them isn't easy either.
Traditional Alabama shrimp may be harvested in much shallower water, but boats targeting Royal Reds need heavier equipment and tremendous amounts of cable to lower their trawls into deep water. Alabama shrimper Jeremy Zirlott has said his boats require about $30,000 worth of cable just to reach Royal Red fishing grounds.
Then there's the flavor.
Royal Reds are unusually sweet and delicate, frequently compared with lobster, scallops or blue crab. They also cook faster than many familiar shrimp varieties.
They've become particularly associated with Alabama's Gulf Coast.
Aquila Seafood in Bon Secour, family owned and operated since 1971, even calls itself the "home of the Royal Red shrimp."
And September happens to be a particularly appropriate time to talk about them. Royal Reds traditionally peak around late summer into early fall.
So when somebody visits Gulf Shores and asks what local seafood they should try, don't automatically point them toward ordinary shrimp.
Tell them to look for the red ones.
They came from a part of the Gulf most of us will never see.
