“Save our Shrimpers” highlighting struggles of Gulf seafood industry

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Gulf Coast Shrimpers say their industry could be washed away by a glut of foreign product that continues to flood the market. A special event is being held this weekend to help raise awareness of an issue that has some teetering on the brink.

The first step is know what you’re buying and where it’s coming from. Foreign imported shrimp may feed a deep appetite for shrimp but it’s also making margins tight and harder to make a living.

Go down to Bayou La Batre and you’ll see how the docks have thinned out in recent weeks with many of the larger shrimping boats out on the water. They’re all looking to bring back bushels of shrimp, the question is how much they’ll get paid for it.

This Saturday starting at 4 “The Shrimp Lady” in Satsuma hosts “SOS-Save Our Shrimpers” , they’ll be highlighting struggle of gulf shrimpers who are competing against farm raised and imported shrimp.

“Just to bring awareness to the issue. A lot of consumers don’t realize what they’re purchasing in grocery stores and that sort of thing. We’ve just recently had the seafood labeling bill passed, which helps bring awareness to consumers. We’re working on getting a bill to keep foreign shrimp out of our waters. As far as bait shrimp,” Kerry Mitchell Alabama Commercial Fishing Association.

Earlier this year Alabama’s new seafood labeling law was signed by the governor –which offered a glimmer of hope. Starting in October–it requires the labeling of “imported” versus “domestic” for seafood at restaurants and grocery stores, as well as the designating of “wild-caught” versus “farm-raised” on all seafood sold.

Shrimpers hope that visibility will make shoppers think where they’ put their dollars to keep the local shrimp industry alive.

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