Senator Bill Cassidy Fights to Protect Louisiana Shrimpers

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) – We love our seafood here in South Louisiana, and we can often tell when what we’re eating isn’t fresh and local. In places like Delcambre, you can buy shrimp that was swimming in the Gulf of America just hours before. But when foreign seafood imports flood the market, our local shrimpers and fishermen take a huge financial hit.

Since 2000, private Ecuadorian shrimp producers and exporters have received at least $195 million in development funding for shrimp aquaculture, fueling a staggering 150% increase in Ecuadorian shrimp exports to the U.S. in just four years. This has added 264 million pounds of imported shrimp to the American market, severely undercutting domestic shrimpers.

Credit Southern Shrimp Alliance. IFI-funded shrimp projects are concentrated in India and Ecuador, which supply nearly 70% of all U.S. shrimp imports and are the largest competitors to the U.S. shrimp industry

What is Senator Cassidy Doing to Protect Louisiana Shrimpers?

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to block U.S. taxpayer dollars from financing foreign shrimp aquaculture projects through International Financial Institutions (IFIs). In a letter to Secretary Bessent, Cassidy called for coordinated action between the Treasury Department and State Department to halt future funding of shrimp aquaculture development, which continues to cripple American shrimpers.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), representing the U.S. shrimp industry in eight states, applauded Cassidy’s efforts and echoed the urgent need for change.

Credit: Southern Shrimp Alliance. The total number of IFI-funded shrimp and aquaculture projects increased significantly in the past decade, pumping billions of dollars into foreign shrimp production.

How Do Foreign Subsidies Impact Louisiana Shrimpers?

Similar funding has propped up shrimp industries in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries, leading to a global oversupply. While inflation has driven up most commodity prices, wholesale shrimp prices have plummeted to historic lows, devastating American shrimpers.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the total value of U.S. shrimp fishermen’s catch dropped from $522 million in 2021 to $268 million in 2023, remaining near that level in 2024. The resulting financial strain has forced many multi-generational, family-owned shrimping businesses to shut down or remain docked. Ironically, even as wholesale prices collapse, consumer prices for shrimp have risen, according to Sustainability Incubator.

Credit: Southern Shrimp Alliance. IFI-funded shrimp projects correlate with a surge in shrimp imports to the U.S. market and surplus supply that exceeds demand.

Are U.S. Trade Relief Funds Helping or Hurting Louisiana Shrimpers?

Senator Cassidy also highlighted how trade relief duties collected on Ecuadorian shrimp—meant to counter unfair trade practices—are not reinvested in American shrimpers. Instead, these funds go into the U.S. Treasury’s general revenue, which ironically helps finance the same IFIs that bankroll foreign shrimp farms.

Despite existing laws instructing the Treasury Department to oppose projects that harm U.S. industries, IFIs approved new aquaculture projects as recently as June 2024, continuing to benefit foreign shrimp producers at the expense of American shrimpers.

The executive director of the Southern Shrimpers Alliance John Williams had this to say regarding the aid:

“It’s infuriating that we have to beg our government to stop using taxpayer dollars to undercut American shrimpers.”

Williams also thanked Senator Cassidy for taking "bold action" to protect the American seafood industries.

Realigning Policy with U.S. Economic Interests

Senator Cassidy’s efforts align with the President Trump's executive order to realign U.S. foreign aid, as well as ongoing efforts by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reform USAID funding to ensure it does not undermine American businesses.