In a move to protect his state’s most valuable commercial fishing product, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is calling upon federal agencies to examine seafood subsidies that allow foreign companies to undercut domestic prices and flood the U.S. market.
In a letter to the Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood, Cassidy notes that China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam exported $3.6 billion, or more than 883 million pounds, of shrimp to the U.S. in 2012. That accounts for more than three-quarters of the overall domestic market.
“Louisiana is a leader in the seafood industry,” Cassidy said. “We take pride in our fisheries and our food. It is unfair that seafood subsidies are allowing foreign companies to dump products into U.S. markets, giving them an advantage over Louisiana industries. Our fisheries and the thousands of jobs that come with them must be protected from the harmful consequences of these actions.”
Cassidy’s letter also recommends changes to seafood labeling that would make consumers more aware of whether product was caught in the wild or farm raised.
The task force, co-chaired by the Department of State and the Department of Commerce, and made up of a broad range of other federal agencies, was established in June 2014 to support sustainable fishing practices and combat seafood fraud and the sale of IUU products.
Shrimp is the most valuable seafood product in Louisiana, a state that produces nearly one-third of the nation’s shrimp and one-quarter of all seafood. Cassidy estimates that 14,000 jobs and an economic impact of more than $1 billion are tied to the shrimp industry.