Hurricane season means more than stocking up on supplies for Rio Grande Valley shrimpers. For them, tropical weather can shape when they work, where they work and whether they head out at all.

EJ Cuevas has spent his whole life around the water. He grew up around boats and, even after earning a college degree, came back to the family shrimping business at Cuevas Trawlers.

"My passion was always here; it was pretty hard to convince me otherwise," EJ Cuevas said.

When shrimping season picks back up in July, his attention will be split between the water and the weather.

"For the most part, when hurricane season comes about, we have to be more aware of that," Cuevas said. "So just keeping up with the news, NOAA forecasts, weather forecasts and conditions offshore.”

While many people track storms from land, shrimpers often monitor conditions from the Gulf. They watch radars and stay in contact with crews offshore.

"These guys sometimes know about bad weather even before we do on land," Cuevas said. "Wherever they're at or however they're getting their information, sometimes they relay that to us. They're already making moves like we're going to run south."

When conditions start to change, so do their plans. That can sometimes mean heading to the nearest safe port, even if it's far from home.

"For the most part, shrimp boats are shrimping, so you know we could be in front of Corpus or Aransas Pass, so they'll go to Aransas Pass," Cuevas said.

Once boats dock, crews start preparing for the storm. Ropes get tied to docks, trees and even other boats to keep vessels in place when strong winds arrive.

"Once they're here at the dock, we tie them up and spiderweb them as best as we can," Cuevas said. "So you just see ropes all over the place. You see ropes tied to tree trunks and ropes tied to anything that's secure to the land."

Cuevas still remembers the days leading up to Hurricane Dolly.

"That was something pretty crazy to see all the boats were rushing in," Cuevas said. "We were getting all the boats hunkered down. There were boats from out of town coming in."

Those memories are a reminder of how quickly conditions can change and how much is on the line.

"If we already have a thin margin of success, bad weather can really make you or break you," Cuevas said. "That's another thing that's out of your control that you still got to be conscious about."

As the 2026 hurricane season gets underway, Cuevas said his hope is simple.

"I'm sure there's going to be some storms, but let's just pray that nobody gets hurt, nobody loses a boat," Cuevas said. "Any major loss would be horrible."

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