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.”
The U.S. imported 795,641 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in 2025, valued at USD 7 billion (EUR 6 billion), representing a 2 percent year-over-year increase. In comparison, Gulf of Mexico landings have continuously declined over the last decade, with shrimpers landing just 196 million pounds in 2023 – the fishery’s lowest value since 1970. Domestic producers have long complained about both the quantity and quality of imported shrimp, arguing that imports drive down the prices U.S. shrimpers can ask for their products by flooding the market. Prices for Gulf shrimp have dropped from roughly USD 6 (EUR 5.20) per pound in the 1980s to USD 2 (EUR 1.73) per pound.
In March 2026, NOAA Fisheries released a report stating that the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fleet “cannot sustainably compete” with imported shrimp. The shrimp sector has also been hit hard in recent years by both Covid-19 and inflation; that same report found that the shrimp fishery’s revenue shrank from USD 489 million (EUR 424) in 2021 to USD 221 million (EUR 192) in 2023.
Now, the Louisiana Shrimp Association has launched a petition on Action Network, an open platform that allows individuals and organizations to collect signatures. The petition is addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration.
“We ask the Administration to address excessive shrimp imports by examining all lawful measures available, including quotas, tariff-rate quotas, safeguards and other appropriate import restrictions; aggressively enforce U.S. trade laws against dumping, foreign subsidies, circumvention, transshipment, mislabeling, origin fraud and products associated with forced labor; restore and fund Trade Adjustment Assistance for fishermen; greatly expand federal purchasing of American wild-caught shrimp and seafood; ensure those purchases provide meaningful benefits to harvesters at the boat and dock level; and strengthen Buy American Seafood policies throughout federal programs wherever legally possible,” the petition reads.
The Louisiana Shrimp Association has set a goal of collecting 10,000 signatures. As of 31 August, more than 1,400 people had signed the petition.
“You DO NOT have to be a fisherman or live in Louisiana to sign. If you believe America should protect its fishermen, working waterfronts, coastal communities, American jobs, and domestic food supply, we need your signature,” the Louisiana Shrimp Association said.
Southern shrimp producers have been ringing the alarm on imports for years, arguing that foreign shrimp is undermining their industry and forcing shrimpers out of business. Tactics to combat imports have ranged from new state regulations requiring restaurants and vendors to label imported shrimp on their menus to publicity campaigns shaming local restaurants for selling imported shrimp.
The shrimp industry has also pushed heavily for federal action, with lawmakers introducing several bills to restrict imports or support domestic producers. Among those bills are the SHRIMP Act, which would charge the government with creating a country-of-origin test for shrimp, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act, which would authorize the government to destroy imported shrimp that is refused entry to the U.S., and the Save Our Shrimpers Act, which calls on representatives of the U.S. to oppose funding for foreign shrimp production.
The sector has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make bulk purchases of domestic shrimp to help prop up the industry, and the department has done so regularly.
The growing frustration from domestic shrimpers has pushed other sectors of the U.S. seafood industry to come to the defense of imported shrimp. In July, the National Retail Federation, National Fisheries Institute, and other groups came together to establish the U.S. Shrimp Coalition, an organization opposed to restricting shrimp imports.
“Globally sourced and domestic shrimp play complementary roles in meeting consumer demand,” National Fisheries Institute President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard said when the coalition was announced. “Seafood sourced overseas provides the reliable, year-round supply Americans rely on while supporting U.S. processors, distributors, restaurateurs, and retailers, along with the 500,000+ American workers these businesses employ. The National Fisheries Institute is pleased to join the U.S. Shrimp Coalition in advocating for policies that keep shrimp affordable and available to American families in 50 states.”
