Seafood - Page 2

The SSI, then, helps promote consistency between the legislation we impose on our own local harvesters and the choices we make as consumers. Significant operating costs have been added to the burden of domestic commercial fishermen as a result of ongoing regulatory reforms. Efforts to reduce by-catch and ocean floor trawling damage in the shrimping industry, for example, mean additional expense for those who comply with the standards. What message does it send, however, when a consumer elects to purchase a bag of imported shrimp that may not have been harvested according to the same environmental standards, just because it is less expensive? Or, perhaps of more immediate concern to that same customer, may not measure up to the same health standards?

The battle between domestic and imported shrimp and other seafood has become increasingly heated in the last decade. Accusations of dumping, or flooding a market with a product priced below cost, have been made by domestic fishermen against foreign competitors. Leading shrimp-exporting countries such as Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand, and Vietnam have denied the dumping allegations. The fact remains that the vast majority of shrimp on the U.S. market are not harvested in domestic waters.

This seems strange in a coastal community where trawlers leave the docks in the early morning hours to cast nets for shrimp and seafood restaurants line the waterfronts and tourist areas. On Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant, longstanding businesses such as the Magwood Seafood Company are etched into local memory. Development along the coast and creeks, however, already threatens to erode the distinct character of the area. The local fisheries are under pressure not only from foreign competition and increased operating costs but also from deep-pocketed corporations hoping to build lucrative developments along the waterways. Sustainability, from this perspective, is about looking after our own people, keeping money circulating in the local area, and ensuring that traditional jobs remain in place as much as it is about protecting the future of marine species.

Continued on page 3

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