Water Street Seafood in Apalachicola Reels in Fresh Flavor
In partnership with: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
As entrepreneurial college students in the mid-1980s at Florida State University, Steven Rash and his friends drove 77 miles from Tallahassee to Apalachicola to buy fresh shrimp, then sold it on the side of the road back in Tallahassee.
“We were young college kids and didn’t know what we were doing, but we knew we had to make money,” Rash says.
Rash enjoyed selling seafood from a small trailer on the side of the road on the weekends and going to class during the week. He also loved being his own boss. After he graduated from FSU in 1987, he bought out his business partners, and Water Street Seafood Inc. in Apalachicola was born.
One of the oldest and most well-known fishing villages in the Gulf, Apalachicola – called “Apalach” by the locals – is nestled on the mouth of the Apalachicola River. It is home to more than 100 species of fish and known for deep-water fishing.
Rash distributes daily deliveries of fresh Florida seafood from Apalachicola to Orange Beach, Alabama, with trucks also going west to Texas and south to Miami.
See more: Silver Springs Park in Florida Has Been a Marvel for Centuries
From Dock to Dollars
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida fishers landed 109.3 million pounds of fish worth $269.7 million in 2022. The Florida fishing industry supports 3,344 jobs with more than $9.9 million in business tax revenue.
Water Street Seafood works with 60 commercial fishers who catch more than 50 varieties of fish, including grouper, snapper and tuna, along with many varieties of shellfish, such as shrimp, oysters, clams and crab.
Rash offers many services to the fishers he works with, such as bait, ice, fuel, water and dock tie-offs, and he happily loans them money if their boats break down. He also buys everything they catch and pays them well and quickly, so the fishers have a consistent revenue source they can count on.
“I’ve been working with some of the fishermen, like Captain Steve Smeby, for 30-plus years,” Rash says. “They’re really special, hardworking individuals who would give you the shirt off their back.”
See more: Florida’s EarthCare Aquaculture Brings Sustainable Tilapia From Farm to Table
Ripples of Change
Rash explains that demand for fresh seafood is highest on the Gulf Coast from March to October, and South Florida has higher demand from October to March, which allows the two regions to balance one another out, providing Florida seafood throughout the year.
“The Gulf can produce so much more seafood than it does,” Rash says. “It’s all natural and not even close to reaching its full potential.”
Rash thinks people would be surprised by how much work and effort it takes to produce seafood, adding that most commercial fishers don’t make a ton of money, but do it because they love it.
Looking ahead, he is hopeful that one of his three kids, who are all in their 20s, will want to work in the fishing industry and take over his business.
While Rash doesn’t have a favorite seafood dish and loves eating everything that comes from the water, he admits Yellowedge Grouper is among his favorites.
“I love seeing people enjoying fresh fish because I know how much work went into putting that piece of fish on a plate,” Rash says.