Southern Shrimp Alliance Analyzes Fuel Costs and Effects on American Food Security
The largest ongoing expense for shrimpers is fuel. As we approach the start of the critical shrimping season openings in May and June, the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) provides an analysis of the surge in diesel prices and forecasts their detrimental impact on U.S. shrimpers’ ability to access seafood resources this spring.
Fuel Price Analysis: A 54% Surge in 90 Days
In 2026, U.S. diesel prices experienced a massive surge. After starting the year at a relatively stable average of $3.48 per gallon, prices skyrocketed to over $5.37 per gallon by late March.
This represents an increase of approximately 54% (or $1.90 per gallon) in less than three months.
Shrimpers warn that if diesel prices are above $4.00 per gallon at the start of the shrimping season, which tends to open in May and June, depending on the state, water temperatures, and biological sampling, it will be very difficult for U.S. shrimpers to access the sustainable shrimp stocks off the coast.
“Fuel is not an optional line item. You cannot shrimp without it,” said SSA Board Member Craig Wallis, owner of W & W Dock in Palacios, Texas. “When pump prices spike overnight, U.S. fishermen cannot simply raise their shrimp prices to compensate. Wholesale seafood markets don’t work that way. We absorb those costs directly. The U.S. shrimping fleet is going to be tied to the dock if something doesn’t change—we are already seeing it happen.”
Diesel Is the Largest Cost of Shrimping
U.S. shrimpers are profoundly affected by diesel prices, which routinely account for more than 50% of total operating costs. Freezer boats operating in the Gulf typically require between 9,000 and 12,000 gallons of diesel for a 30-day trip, according to SSA Board Member Jeremy Zirlott, owner of Zirlott Trawlers in Coden, Alabama.
“For a recent 30-day trip, I spent $47,000 on diesel before I even left the dock. That is $20,000 more for a single trip than the previous year,” explained Zirlott. “U.S. shrimpers operate on razor-thin margins, and right now, the increased cost of diesel makes it nearly impossible to turn a profit in the wholesale shrimp market.”
SSA Board Member Lindsey Burroughs, Captain of the Alexandra Pearl in Bayou la Batre, Alabama, uses approximately 700 gallons per day and agrees,
“You can’t make the math come out right. The gamble I take when putting $55,000 to $60,0000 of fuel in my boat is too high. I am going to be tied to the dock, along with my fellow shrimpers, until fuel prices drop.”
Smaller inshore operators face proportionally similar burdens, regardless of whether they operate small dayboats or iceboats that run for 3-5 days at a time. Iceboats use roughly 15 gallons/hour to harvest shrimp, utilizing 800-1,000 gallons a week, according to SSA Board Member John Wallace, owner of Anchor Seafood in Brunswick, Georgia.
“Shrimpers are not guaranteed a certain volume or value of shrimp per trip. With diesel prices surging, vessel operators face an impossible choice: head out to sea and risk losing money on every pound of shrimp landed, or tie up the boat and watch their livelihoods slip away,” said Wallace.
A Fleet Under Pressure
The domestic shrimping industry supports tens of thousands of jobs in coastal communities stretching from Texas to North Carolina — deckhands, processors, ice house workers, net makers, mechanics, and more. The U.S. shrimping fleet is the economic backbone of many coastal communities. When fuel prices spike, the ripple effects reach far beyond the dock.
These family-owned businesses have survived generations of challenges, from hurricanes to the flood of unethically produced foreign shrimp imports. The value of U.S. wild-caught shrimp dropped by half between 2021 ($522 million) to 2024 ($258 million) due to counterproductive trade policies. Fishing families cut extraneous costs and dipped into savings in hopes of better markets. Although the U.S. shrimp market significantly improved and dockside prices recovered in 2025 with the imposition of new trade relief and the implementation of President Trump’s trade policy, the industry’s rally is now being impeded by spiraling costs.
Americans Should Produce America’s Favorite Seafood
Shrimp is the most-consumed seafood in the United States by volume, with the average American eating more than five pounds per year. When the domestic fleet cannot harvest shrimp, Americans do not eat less shrimp. They eat more imported shrimp, sourced from countries with far weaker environmental protections, labor standards, and food safety oversight.
The consequences extend well beyond the boats themselves. The U.S. shrimping industry supports tens of thousands of jobs in coastal communities stretching from Texas to North Carolina. When boats stay tied to the dock, entire coastal economies feel it.
America’s Food Security at Risk
A common observation is that the USDA provides land-based food producers a safety net that fishermen lack. But, this moment calls for clarity rather than division among America’s food producers. Farm subsidies, where they exist, are largely commodity-specific price support programs, crop insurance cost-share programs, and conservation payments – not blank checks that cover every input cost. They do not shield farmers from rising diesel prices. The American Farm Bureau Federation made that clear earlier this month in a letter to the Trump Administration that the inability to stabilize input costs before the spring planting season could trigger food price disruptions not seen since 2022, when food inflation hit 40-year highs.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act did provide $12 billion in emergency economic assistance to American farmers, recognizing that the people who produce America’s food sometimes need support. That precedent matters. But even those funds do not cover the direct burden of surging fuel costs on day-to-day operations. Farmers and fishermen are similar in that they are both price-takers, not price-makers; both bear input cost increases directly; and both are essential to American food security.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance is actively working with other food producer organizations, including agricultural groups, to explore shared solutions to the fuel crisis. In 2022, the Farm Bureau encouraged the administration to explore all options to reduce the burden of rising fuel costs, including removing regulatory barriers that limit the supply, production, and distribution of diesel fuel. The impact of elevated fuel prices extends into the long term, beyond America’s ability to produce food this spring.
“Recognizing that every American is coping with rising fuel costs, we aim to find solutions that are in the national interest for America’s food producers,” said Blake Price, director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “To the maximum extent possible, America needs to be able to feed itself. That is a matter of national security. Current fuel prices cannot be the reason America loses its infrastructure and capacity to harvest its vast resources.”