Texas shrimpers say the collapse of their industry is no longer just an economic crisis but a national security threat.
With 94% of shrimp consumed in the United States now reportedly imported, industry leaders warn that America’s favorite seafood has become a strategic vulnerability as domestic fleets shrink and Gulf Coast infrastructure erodes.
“When seafood reaches 94% import reliance, that is not a trade statistic; that is a national security vulnerability,” Blake Price, director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, said in a statement to The Dallas Express.
“Foreign shrimp producers benefit from U.S.-supported development funding and lax enforcement of food safety, environmental, and forced labor laws. Double standards undercut Texas shrimpers operating under strict standards, driving multigenerational fishing families out of business and eroding the coastal infrastructure that domestic seafood production depends on to produce healthy seafood. Tariffs on shrimp imports are needed immediately. Without them, we risk permanently losing the vessels, processing capacity, and skilled workforce that can not be rebuilt once gone.”
According to data tables shared with The Dallas Express by the alliance, total residential commercial shrimping licenses issued to residents in the Gulf and South Atlantic fell from a recent peak of roughly 16,000 in 2001 to about 4,500 in 2024 — less than one-third of prior levels.
Figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shared by the alliance, show the total value of shrimp landings in the Gulf of America and South Atlantic declined to $258 million in 2024 from a peak of $738 million in 2000. The drop has been most acute in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, according to the data.
The alliance says more than half the value of the fishery was wiped out between 2021, when it totaled $522 million, and 2024. The group argues that shrinking fleets means the loss of vessels, dock space, processing facilities, and skilled crews, assets that cannot easily be rebuilt.
“For decades, misguided trade and foreign aid policies have hollowed out America’s shrimping fleet, reduced the number of working waterfronts, and made us dependent on foreign seafood producers who don’t meet the standards we hold our own fishermen to,” said Price. “We are encouraged that President Trump recognizes the urgency of reversing course, from defending our seafood markets against unfair trade practices to rebuilding our shipbuilding capacity as a matter of national security. It is long past time to stop sending U.S. taxpayer dollars overseas to subsidize our foreign competitors. Instead, let’s invest in our own fisheries and shipbuilding capacity.”
Texas’s shrimping industry has long faced fierce competition from overseas producers in India and Ecuador.
“Our American shrimpers are being squeezed to the point that they’re going to lose their businesses. And many of these businesses are second-, third-, and fourth-generation… [The IMF and World Bank are giving money] to these countries, money to help with these shrimping companies over there to just kill our own industry,” Texas Republican Congressman Troy Nehls told The Dallas Express in 2024. He introduced a bill, the Save Our Shrimpers Act, to combat this policy, but it ultimately did not pass.
While the legislative branch has stalled, the executive branch has taken action.
President Donald Trump has directed new Section 301 investigations through the Office of the United States Trade Representative targeting what officials describe as “unjustifiable, unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdensome” foreign trade practices in the seafood industry, The Dallas Express previously reported.
Texas GOP Rep. Terri Leo Wilson welcomed the move.
“As someone who has consistently championed our local shrimpers, I welcome the decisive action by the Office of the United States Trade Representative to pursue new Section 301 investigations that hold our trading partners accountable for unfair practices that have long undercut American seafood producers. Strong enforcement of our trade laws is essential to leveling the playing field and ensuring Texas shrimpers can compete, grow, and pass their livelihoods on to the next generation,” Wilson told DX.
Wilson was instrumental in passing SB 823, a shrimp genetic testing bill that was aimed at discouraging restaurants from labelling foreign shrimp as domestic, DX reported.
A February 2026 White House maritime action framework calls for rebuilding domestic shipbuilding capacity and strengthening the maritime industrial base as a matter of national and economic security. While the document does not specifically address shrimping, it emphasizes protecting sustainable fisheries and defending seafood markets from unfair trade practices.
Industry advocates argue that without rapid trade enforcement and investment in domestic maritime capacity, Texas risks losing not only an iconic industry but part of its coastal security backbone.
