A bill designed to support Coastal Georgia’s shrimp industry didn’t pass before the state legislature’s session ended earlier this month.
So, without immediate support from elected officials, some local shrimpers attending the annual Blessing of the Fleet ceremony in Darien over the weekend are now pinning their hopes for relief on President Donald Trump.
After years of his profession being undercut by lower-cost farmed shrimp from overseas, Capt. Wynn Gale, a fourth-generation commercial shrimper, said he hopes Trump’s proposed tariffs will “work out for us” by cutting off the influx of imports that have decimated the once prosperous industry.
At the same time, the 52-year-old Gale, who has been shrimping since he was 12, said he’s worried that whatever benefits the industry stands to gain from Trump’s initial tariff proposals will get bargained away when countries start negotiating with the administration.
“They will end up doing something different with the tariffs, and we’ll probably still get the s*** end of the stick,” Gale said.
‘You can’t bring them back’
Gale has reason to be concerned.
The rollout of the White House’s tariff regime has been chaotic, so it’s unclear what financial relief local shrimpers will receive, if any. Consumers who have become accustomed to cheap imported shrimp are uncertain, too. They don’t know what price increases to expect.
Shrimp is Americans’ favorite seafood. The two largest importers of shrimp to the United States — India and Ecuador — currently face a new 10% tariff, like all imports. Under the Trump administration’s formula rolled out — and suspended — earlier this month, Indian imports would be subject to an additional 26% tariff. The levies are scheduled to go into effect in July.
Suppliers from both countries sell their shrimp to huge retailers such as Walmart and Kroger.
Even if tariffs beneficial to the local shrimp industry were to survive the negotiations that lay ahead, the industry has shrunk to such an extent in recent years that U.S. shrimpers wouldn’t be able to take the place of these foreign suppliers anytime soon.
Two or three bad seasons like those the industry has suffered means boats don’t get maintained properly, and “if you can’t take care of your boats, they get down, and once they get down, you can’t bring them back. It costs too much money,” said Gregory T. Boone, 66, who said he hasn’t missed a year of shrimping since he was 11.
That shrinking of the fleet is another factor that imperils the industry, according to Gale. “We lost three or four boats last year, and nobody brought no new boats around.”
Lack of crew is a problem, too. Last season, local shrimpers suffered under the twin burden of high prices for fuel and low prices for shrimp, making it “hard to find people to work,” recalled Boone, captain of “The Little Man.”
Now, local captains say that the dwindling number of U.S.-born shrimpers mean they need to hire Mexican and Salvadoran veterans of the business who have been legally in the country for two or three decades. “They benefit us a bunch,” he said.
‘A little better’
Local shrimpers are united with a view that they need more support for their business prospects to improve.
That’s why Jamey Bennett was disappointed that the Georgia General Assembly didn’t pass the legislation, spearheaded by state Rep. Jesse Petrea (R- Savannah) that would have required Georgia restaurants and other commercial operations to label the source of their shrimp. The clarity would help educate consumers about whether they were eating locally sourced catch, or not.
“I just felt like at least they should have passed it, let everybody know what they’re eating and where the shrimp are coming from,” said Bennett, captain of the “Miss Kristin.”
Still, on a day when a group of local clerics stood on the North Walton Street bridge that spans the Darien River and one after another said prayers and blessed the shrimp fleet for yet another season, the 27-year-old Bennett is optimistic and not ready to throw in the towel on a life that three previous generations in his family have led. At least this season.
“It’s a little better with tariffs and all that’s going on, so we should be able to get a good price for our shrimp.”
This story was provided by WABE content partner The Current.
