Florida shrimpers say Trump's new international tariffs could save their industry
Space Coast shrimpers are hopeful that President Trump's new international tariffs will protect the struggling U.S. shrimping industry by making cheaper, unregulated foreign imports less competitive.
With over 90% of shrimp coming from overseas, local captains say the tariffs could help revive domestic production and keep their boats in the water.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Shrimpers on the Space Coast are thankful for President Trump's new international tariffs.
Right now, the industry's saturated with foreign imports, putting local shrimpers out of business. Local shrimp captains say the tariffs could change that.
By the numbers
More than 90% of shrimp are imported into the United States from other countries. Florida's coast is full of shrimp, but that's not what Americans are eating!
"China started shipping shrimp into the country, and that's when our prices went to nothing. I mean, we're getting prices that were 50 years ago," said shrimp boat captain Woody Moore, who supports the new tariffs.
American shrimpers can't compete with child labor and cheap foreign farming.
What they're saying
"Imports have flooded the markets, so we're told to stay home," said Marilyn Solorzano, a fifth-generation shrimp captain who also supports the new tariffs.
She says it's not fuel prices or storms killing the local seafood industry. "The worst thing I've seen yet is the influx of imports," said Solorzano. "It beats all, and it has to be stopped."
She says American shrimpers only produce about 6% of shrimp. The rest comes from overseas. "We've had so many imports flooding the market we've had to tie our boats up," she said.
Local shrimpers struggle to sell their catch because foreign products are way cheaper to buy.
"It's half the price," said Mike Merrifield, who owns Wild Ocean Seafood Market.
Foreign shrimp may come from the other side of the world, but it's still cheaper to buy.
What's next
Seafood industry experts are confident the international tariffs will level the playing field.
"What the tariffs will do is it will raise that artificially low price," said the local seafood store owner.
The tariffs will make foreign shrimp more expensive, so local shrimpers can keep up.
"We can produce more than 6% of the shrimp in this country when given the chance, but they don't want to buy the product because they want to buy cheap," said Solorzano.
"It's a lot cheaper, and they'll buy them because the consumer doesn't really know the difference in the import and the domestic," concluded Moore.
These captains are confident the new tariffs will help prioritize products from the U.S. Another concern these shrimpers have about relying on foreign countries for food is that it's not regulated like the U.S. is.
With so much shrimp coming from overseas, it's impossible to test and check all of it, so we don't know what other countries are really putting in the food we eat.
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The Source
FOX 35's Reporter Esther Bower interviewed several shrimp boat captains on 4/9 at Wild Ocean Market located at Port Canaveral. She also interviewed another captain over zoom on 4/9.
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