(The Center Square) — As you drive down Grand Caillou Road and into the town of DuLac, you’ll find rows of abandoned shrimp processing plants and boats run aground.
DuLac was a shrimping mecca not so long ago and its ruin has been aided by foreign countries and forgotten by the federal government. More than 90% of shrimp consumed in the United States is now foreign and farm-raised.
That wasn’t always the case. In 1989, the US imported 502 million pounds of shrimp. By 2019, imports had grown to 1.2 billion pounds.
From 2002 to 2022, domestic production declined by approximately 48%, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“It turned into a market that, slowly, all they wanted to do is import,” Kermit Duck, a shrimper from Morgan City, told The Center Square. “The thing you got to remember is that shrimp all used to be seasonal.”
This change matters because it’s not just a loss of local jobs — it’s a shift in the entire market and industry. As imports flood in year round, they undercut the price and demand for domestic shrimp, leaving communities that once thrived on seasonal harvests with fewer opportunities.
“When you start over-importing, you start shutting down America,” Duck said. “We can’t compete with the market, so were stuck having to sell our shrimp here to make ends meet because we can’t afford to sell them at the dock.”
Normally, shrimpers sell their catch to docks, which serve as intermediary points where shrimp are stored, chilled and made ready for transport to processing plants.
These docks provide essential services like ice and fuel, and they buy shrimp directly from shrimpers, who rely on the docks to handle and distribute their catch to the next step in the process.
“Remember one thing,” Duck said. “The processor is the one that makes the price.”
Accordingly, over-importation allows processors to charge lower prices and shrimpers find themselves in a position where they can’t stay competitive when cheaper foreign shrimp dominates the market.
So, what led to such an astounding increase in imported shrimp?
“Our lawyers have found that shrimp farming companies overseas are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies from their governments,” David Chauvin, founder of David Chauvin’s Seafood Company, told The Center Square.
Unlike foreign producers, U.S. shrimpers don’t receive similar support from their government.
“We don’t get any of that,” Chauvin said.
Chauvin said that he’s currently awaiting a ruling from the International Trade Commission on lawsuit he filed against India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Ecuador, which make up 85% of all farm raised, imported shrimp in the United States.
As The Center Square recently reported, a group of U.S. lawmakers has raised concerns that the U.S. Treasury Department may not be upholding its duty to protect American industries from unfair international competition.
The lawmakers pointed out that the Treasury Department is required by law to oppose any international monetary projects that could harm U.S. industries, particularly when foreign competitors, like shrimp farms, receive economic assistance from their governments.
According to the press release, U.S. directors have backed projects involving industries that directly compete with American shrimpers at least 17 times since 2006.
The cherry on top? A shrimper’s most costly expenditure — diesel fuel — has skyrocketed. From January of 2021 to June of 2022, prices increased by 116%. Currently, prices remain elevated 30% from when President Joe Biden took office.
