Yesterday, NOAA Fisheries released preliminary data on warmwater shrimp landings in the Gulf of America and South Atlantic. The preliminary data, which is historically underestimated and incomplete, show a fishery in recovery: more pounds landed, higher dockside prices, and a sharp rebound from the 2023-2024 price collapse. But the lived experience for American shrimpers is complicated as they work towards a transparent, fair, and competitive market.
What the Preliminary Data Shows
NOAA Fisheries’ preliminary data released yesterday shows U.S. shrimp fishery production rebounded in 2026, with significant increases that helped restore American market share.
- 24.8 million pounds of shrimp landed in the Gulf in January-May 2026, versus 23.7 million pounds during the same period in 2025 and 21.5 million pounds in 2024
- Louisiana landings up nearly 30% year-over-year, from 9.9 million in January-May 2025 to 12.9 million pounds in 2026
- Gulf ex-vessel prices for 21/25 count shrimp at $5.65/lb in May 2026, up from a low of $3.03/lb in May 2023
By any measure, these numbers are positive. They also understate the recovery, since NOAA Fisheries’ preliminary findings have historically undercounted actual landings and lack complete information. For example, the preliminary data shows 22,000 pounds of shrimp were landed on the west coast of Florida, while final shrimp landings data for the west coast of Florida has ranged between 1.7 million and 3.6 million pounds in every year since 2021.
“The shrimp landings data prove the obvious,” said Blake Price, Executive Director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “When action is taken to discipline unfairly traded imports, American fishermen can get back to work, quickly increase production, and get better seafood on the plates of American consumers. When we allow these imports to enter without sufficient offsets, shrimpers are forced to tie up, and rural, coastal communities suffer.”
Trade Status: It’s Complicated
Tariffs work. The January-May 2026 data reflect that. But the existence of tariffs doesn’t tell the full story. One needs to look at the bigger picture to understand why American shrimpers are still calling for urgent action in September.
- Global Oversupply: Currently, the global shrimp market is oversupplied, driven by international financial institution development funding and government subsidies. The recovery shrimpers are experiencing is from unsustainable record-low prices, similar to those paid in the 1980s without inflation adjustment. Preventing non-competitive investments into shrimp aquaculture development—including by U.S. taxpayers—is essential to a functioning market.
- Tariff Dilution: When the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs President Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA tariffs), foreign shrimp suppliers that originally paid the tariffs became eligible for refunds of the $902.7 million collected on shrimp. These refunds, which started in May 2026, amount to more than all tariffs assessed on shrimp in the decade before 2025. The cash infusion has diluted the effectiveness of Section 301 tariffs imposed in late July regarding forced labor.
- Temporary Expense Hikes: Fuel is the largest operating expense for U.S. shrimpers, averaging more than a third of total costs. Today’s diesel prices are high, and many shrimpers cannot cover a trip’s expenses even when the catch is good. It is an issue affecting many American food producers, not shrimpers specifically. But let’s be clear—absent the negative long-term effects of unfair trade, U.S. shrimpers could absorb short-term fuel price increases as they have been in the past.
- False Advertising: By keeping packaging vague and restaurant menus ambiguous—or outright deceptive—foreign producers sell bland, farm-raised shrimp to consumers who assume they are buying a high-quality domestic catch. Sales of U.S. wild-caught shrimp should benefit the U.S. shrimp industry, not foreign suppliers.
“Tariffs that address unfair trade are foundational to shrimpers’ recovery. Without a fair market, there isn’t a fair price,” said Price. “A stable, fair market enables the U.S. shrimp industry to invest in the infrastructure needed to shrimp—such as boats, docks, and processing facilities. It’s what allows multigenerational families to continue the work that they love.”
What Do U.S. Shrimpers Need to Thrive?
The market is complex, but the concept that shrimp that don’t meet U.S. rules and standards shouldn’t be sold to U.S. consumers—especially not under the guise of premium U.S. wild-caught shrimp—is quite simple.
A healthy, sustainable shrimp market requires policy solutions focused on basic fairness and truth:
- Fair Trade Enforcement: Offsetting unfair trade in all of its forms so domestic shrimpers—and foreign producers following the rules of trade—can compete on a level playing field.
- Marketplace Transparency: Giving consumers clear, honest labeling at grocery stores and restaurants so they know whether they are buying wild-caught domestic shrimp or imported farm-raised shrimp.
- Equal Standards: Holding imported shrimp to the same food safety, labor, and environmental standards required of domestic producers.
Such policies allow U.S. shrimpers to invest in a future that moves shrimp from America’s coast to American dinner plates.
Review NOAA Fisheries’ Shrimp Statistics, May – 2026 (Aug. 31, 2026) here: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/May-2026-Monthly-shrimp-report-1.pdf