Saving Seafood

Federal government’s new America-First Seafood Strategy offers hope for Gulf shrimpers

October 28, 2026 — The Southern Shrimp Alliance welcomes the Trump Administration’s announcement of the America First Seafood Strategy.

The Friday announcement was accompanied by a 33-page report and website, seafood.gov, focused on the revitalization of the U.S. seafood industry that clearly identified the challenge confronting the federal government: “Rich Waters. Rising Imports.”

The United States has some of the richest fishery resources in the world and the hardest working commercial fishermen on Earth. Yet America imports an overwhelming majority of its seafood supply while domestic seafood businesses and fishing communities struggle to survive. President Trump is fixing this, and putting America’s fisheries and American consumers first.

“President Trump has prioritized getting fishermen back to work to supply Americans with healthy, sustainable, domestically-sourced seafood. The U.S. shrimp industry is thrilled to see a detailed America First Seafood Strategy and looks forward to assisting federal agencies in the implementation of its objectives,” said Blake Price, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “At the same time, American shrimpers ask that the Administration take meaningful action to combat the unfair trade practices that have allowed foreign seafood to dominate our market and provide immediate relief from high diesel costs that have forced our boats to tie up.”

Read the full article at The Houma Times

U.S. Shrimpers Petition to Stop Imports of Indian Shrimp Using Forced Labor

October 28, 2026 — The following was released by the Southern Shrimp Alliance:

U.S. commercial shrimp fishermen, supported by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, filed a trade action today to end imports of Indian shrimp produced through the reprehensible use of forced labor. The Section 337 complaint asks the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to determine whether forced labor in the supply chains of major seafood producer Nekkanti Sea Foods constitutes an unfair trade practice that harms domestic shrimp producers.

“Forced labor is not a competitive advantage; it’s an inhumane practice that must end,” said Blake Price, executive director for the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “Multiple investigations find that Indian shrimp producers cut their costs by exploiting vulnerable populations, who are compelled by debt bondage, restricted movement, and abusive bosses to work in hazardous conditions to make shrimp that is exported to the United States. When the U.S. opens its market to Indian shrimp, we fail those vulnerable workers and allow immoral practices to push ethical producers out of the market.”

Growing Forced Labor Findings Unaddressed

In 2024, Corporate Accountability Lab, which is serving as co-counsel in the case, released a three-year studydocumenting widespread use of forced labor across all levels of India’s shrimp supply chain. The Associated Press, the Outlaw Ocean Project, and CNN have since corroborated the study, and the U.S. Department of Laboradded shrimp from India to the 2024 List of Goods Produced with Forced Labor (TVPRA List), officially notifying all U.S. buyers sourcing shrimp from India to exercise additional due diligence to combat forced labor.

The Tariff Act of 1930 grants the ITC authority under Section 337 to block the importation of goods involved in unfair acts or methods of competition that either injure or threaten to injure a U.S. industry.

Distorted Prices of Indian Shrimp Harm American Shrimpers

India is a leading supplier of shrimp to the U.S. market, accounting for over half of all peeled shrimp (52%) and 40% of all frozen warmwater shrimp imported into the United States in 2025. The ITC has repeatedly determined that the U.S. shrimp industry is harmed or threatened with injury by Indian shrimp companies due to dumping (selling below fair value) and subsidies from the Indian government that support shrimp production for export. However, these trade remedies do not fully address the unfair competition caused by forced labor, which undercuts U.S. shrimp producers and costs them sales in the U.S. market.

As Indian shrimp prices fell to record lows, they dragged down all shrimp prices, causing the U.S. shrimp industry to lose half of its value between 2021 and 2023. America’s multigenerational mom-and-pop shrimping businesses closed in staggering numbers. By 2024, state shrimping licenses reached their lowest levels on record, and the total number of commercial shrimp licenses for the Gulf of America dropped to less than one-third of what they were in 2000.

Additionally, studies have linked the pricing pressures resulting from the use of forced labor in India to increased worker exploitation in other major shrimp-producing countries, such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Meanwhile, America is quickly losing its ability to harvest sustainable shrimp from local waters because of uncompetitive practices, jeopardizing domestic food security.

“This case aims to pressure India’s shrimp aquaculture industry to remove forced labor from their supply chains to access the large U.S. market,” explained Price. “Unfairly traded shrimp undercut American shrimpers, who are leaving their cherished, multigenerational way of life to make ends meet. America is losing its ability to access the sustainable shrimp stocks that grow naturally in local waters.”

ITC Decision Coming Soon

The complaint offers a clear timeline and transparent plan for the U.S. shrimp industry, which for years has shown evidence of unfair practices and their damaging effects on American fishing families to the Department of Labor, the Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies without any resulting action.

The Section 337 complaint follows a strict legal process. The ITC Commissioners will decide within 30 calendar days (November 27, 2026) whether to initiate the case and announce how it will proceed. An eight-day public comment period will follow publication in the Federal Register.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Read the fact sheet: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Section-337-Fact-Sheet-Final.pdf

Read the Corporate Accountability Lab’s (co-counsel) press release, blog, and landing page

Filed complaint: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sec-337-Complaint-PUBLIC.pdf

Investigation 337-3935

Global wild-caught shrimp making progress on sustainability, but still face challenges

September 1, 2026 — Over the last two decades, the percentage of the world’s shrimp supply coming from wild-caught fisheries has gradually taken up a smaller piece of the pie.

The most recent statistics on wild-caught shrimp place it at 29 percent of the world’s total supply of shrimp, and of that, one-third of global catch is taken up by China, with India’s production also rapidly growing. According to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which shared the info during the Wild-Caught Shrimp Summit it hosts alongside the Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht, Netherlands, more and more of those fisheries are beginning to take up MSC certification.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANA: Louisiana shrimpers launch petition to restrict imports

September 1, 2026 — Frustrated with decades of competition from cheaper, imported shrimp, shrimpers from Louisiana have launched a petition calling on the U.S. federal government to take action to restrict imports and better support domestic producers.

“The Louisiana Shrimp Association is asking fishermen, fishing families, seafood businesses, restaurants, consumers, and everyone who supports American jobs and American seafood to stand with us,” the association said in a 30 August Facebook post. “Our wild-caught shrimp industry is in crisis. American shrimp harvesters are struggling with unsustainable dockside prices while enormous volumes of imported shrimp continue to enter our country.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Fisheries moves to extend moratorium on new Gulf shrimp permits

August 27, 2026 — With the current moratorium set to expire later this year, NOAA Fisheries has moved to extend a ban on new federal shrimp permits for the Gulf of Mexico by another 10 years.

While the Gulf of Mexico federal shrimp fishery supported more than 4,000 commercial shrimping vessels, rising fuel prices and competition from cheaper imported shrimp drove many of those vessel owners to call it quits. Still, regulators believed that there were too many shrimp vessels operating to be profitable, so in 2006, NOAA Fisheries issued a 10-year moratorium on new commercial shrimp vessel permits. In 2008, the government issued just 1,933 vessel permits.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina weighs habitat protections, fishing licenses

August 19, 2026 — North Carolina fisheries managers will consider advancing new coastal habitat protections and setting the number of commercial fishing licenses available for the coming year at the Marine Fisheries Commission meeting on August 19-20 in Raleigh.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on whether to release a proposed 2026 amendment to the state’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan for public and advisory committee review. The action would not adopt the plan or create new fishing restrictions but could set the stage for a broader habitat rulemaking process beginning in 2027, according to the Island Free Press.

The draft amendment calls for further consideration of how fishing gear and other activities affect submerged aquatic vegetation, or underwater grass beds, as well as deep-water oyster recovery areas. Any regulations developed through that process would require additional commission approval and public review.

North Carolina’s coastal waters have historically supported nearly 200,000 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation, which provides spawning, nursery, and feeding habitat for commercial and recreationally important species. The draft says those grass beds are declining by more than 1 percent annually as water clarity, warming temperatures, and sea-level rise affect coastal waters.

The proposed habitat work would also overlap with upcoming reviews of the state’s shrimp and bay scallop fishery management plans. Marine Fisheries staff are recommending delaying the bay scallop review until 2027 so it can move forward alongside the shrimp review and habitat rule development.

If the amendment is released for review, the commission would consider comments from the public and advisory committees before the plan returns for possible final action in November.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US court hears arguments against turtle excluder devices in inshore Louisiana waters

August 14, 2026 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is considering a challenge to a 2019 NOAA Fisheries rule forcing Louisiana inshore shrimpers to install turtle excluder devices (TEDs).

A TED is a grid of metal bars placed in a trawl net that block larger animals – like turtles – while allowing smaller animals – like shrimp – to pass through. Louisiana shrimpers claim the requirement on inshore vessels is excessive, making their work more difficult and expensive despite little risk to turtles.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

TEXAS: Texas sets July reopening for Gulf commercial shrimp season

July 20, 2026 — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has announced the reopening of the commercial Gulf shrimp season, following its annual assessment of shrimp populations and growth in Texas coastal waters.

According to TPWD, the reopening date is determined using biological sampling conducted each June to maximize benefits for both the shrimp resource and the commercial fishing industry while ensuring sustainable harvests.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NORTH CAROLINA: Festival aims to promote and save shrimp industry

August 14, 2017 — SNEADS FERRY, N.C. — The Sneads Ferry community hosted its 47th annual Shrimp Festival this weekend.

The festival started as a way to promote the thriving shrimp industry in our state. However, in recent years, it’s become more of an effort to save the declining industry.

Recently proposed regulations, including how many days a week they can work, what time of day they can work, and how big their nets can be, have many shrimpers fearful for the future and the impact it will have on their livelihood.

Read and watch the full story at Spectrum News

Senators add shrimp to seafood import monitoring program implementation plan

July 28, 2017 — Efforts to include shrimp in the Seafood Import Monitoring Program when it takes effect Jan. 1 of next year advanced in Congress on Thursday, the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) said in a release.

Senate appropriations committee chairman Thad Cochran and commerce, justice and science appropriations subcommittee chairman Richard Shelby added language to the FY2018 commerce, justice and science subcommittee bill to ensure that shrimp is fully integrated into the program on the same timeline as other species, the association said.

Previously, shrimp was expected to be phased in at a later date than majority of other priority species, which have a mandatory compliance date of Jan. 1.

David Veal, ASPA executive director, commended the decision. He said Cochran and Shelby showed they care about the survival of the US shrimp industry and continued economic opportunity and job growth of coastal communities.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News