Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya of the Federal Trade Commission, along with attorney advisor Max Miller, met with members of the U.S. shrimp industry in Mississippi and Alabama this month to learn about the American shrimp market and hear about misleading marketing practices in the foodservice sector that have undermined the ability to sell domestic, wild-caught shrimp.
In Biloxi, Mississippi, discussions with Commissioner Bedoya focused on the substantial harm done to the U.S. royal red shrimp fishery by the marketing of imported shrimp as royal red shrimp at Gulf Coast restaurants. Fishermen provided examples of Argentinian shrimp being substituted for royal reds on menus, effectively wiping out this premium fishery by forcing shrimpers to match the prices of imported shrimp.
Fishermen also provided examples of national restaurant chains selling imported, farmed shrimp through the use of images and likenesses from the U.S. shrimp industry. Commissioner Bedoya and Attorney Miller reviewed examples of national media campaigns featuring imagery from the U.S. commercial shrimp fishery to misleadingly market foreign, pond-raised shrimp. Shrimpers described being recruited to participate as extras in some of these media campaigns.
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) has advocated that the Federal Trade Commission address the misleading marketing of imported shrimp in foodservice. At the meetings, a representative from the Senator’s office highlighted the importance of the shrimp industry to coastal Mississippi’s economy and culture, and described the challenges faced by the industry in competing against imported shrimp for restaurant sales.
Industry members explained the lack of legal recourse available to address misleading marketing practices in the absence of Federal Trade Commission action. Challenging the Commission’s assertion that “deceptive claims on restaurant menus appear to be largely a regional issue, and therefore are being addressed through state legislation,” shrimpers described their nationwide sales and presented multiple examples of national marketing campaigns that undermined the ability of the U.S. shrimp industry to sell shrimp to restaurants.
Following the meeting in Biloxi, Commissioner Bedoya and Attorney Miller traveled to Bayou La Batre, Alabama to speak with shrimpers and tour the industry.
“Our industry appreciates every opportunity to show federal regulators why their work matters to American families,” said John Williams, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We are grateful to Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya and Max Miller for taking the time to learn about our fishery and the U.S. shrimp market. We look forward to continuing to work with the Federal Trade Commission to improve our market and move closer to a level playing field with imported shrimp.”
Read about the Federal Trade Commission’s final “Made in the U.S.A.” rule and the Southern Shrimp Alliance’s submissions to the Commission regarding the rule here: https://shrimpalliance.com/federal-trade-commission-adopts-final-made-in-the-u-s-a-rule/
About the Southern Shrimp Alliance
The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) is an organization of shrimp fishermen, shrimp processors, and other members of the domestic industry in the eight warmwater shrimp producing states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
