Published: Apr 11, 2004

Foreign competition is making cut bait out of the Florida shrimp industry. Indeed, the once-lucrative shrimping industry is dwindling all along the Gulf of Mexico. As The Tampa Tribune's Mark Holan found, American shrimpers cannot compete with pond-raised imported shrimp or shrimp caught off foreign shores.

The imports are cheaper because foreign nations don't worry about environmental safeguards. American shrimpers' nets must have devices that allow turtles and fish to escape. The federal mandate was justified because coastal netting frequently drowned endangered turtles and killed thousands of other marine species, especially juvenile fish.

The "excluder" net devices allow fish and turtles to swim free, but they cause shrimpers to lose a small amount of their catch. As a result, American shrimpers have to invest more time and labor in bringing shrimp to market than foreign fishermen.

Moreover, as Holan reports, foreign operations destroy coastal mangrove habitats to make way for shrimp farms, an environmental offense that would not be permitted in the United States. The farms use antibiotics to prevent disease, which could cause shrimp consumers to develop a resistance to antibiotics.

U.S. shrimpers claim China, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Ecuador and Brazil dump shrimp on the American market, selling it for a fraction of what they charge in their homelands. The U.S. trade office should aggressively work to stop the unfair practice.

For all these reasons, it is worth taking the time to ask for Gulf of Mexico shrimp at restaurants or supermarkets. The native prawns may cost a little more. But America's struggling shrimpers - who are trying to do right by the nation's resources - deserve that small sacrifice.