Narrator: Shrimp is the most consumed seafood in the United States. And in Louisiana, it's big business. The wild-caught crustaceans bring in about $1.3 billion for the state every year. But for the last few years, shrimpers have been hit with a perfect storm of rising fuel costs and rock-bottom prices. That's one of the toughest jobs you could ever do. And if you're not getting your dues for it, why do it? Narrator: Producers say a flood of cheaper imported shrimp from India and Ecuador is sinking Louisiana's industry. But there's no way to feed America's skyrocketing demand without imports, which make up 90% of the shrimp the US consumes. Up against these headwinds, companies up and down Louisiana's supply chain are closing up shop. Dean: If you worked hard and you did the right thing, you could become a millionaire in the '80s and the '90s.

Now you can barely make a living. Narrator: So, how did the industry get this bad? And is it too late to save it? New Orleans chef Justin Kennedy insists on buying only wild shrimp caught by fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. We have never fried a foreign shrimp and ever served it to our customer. I'll never even look at it as an option. Narrator: He runs Parkway Bakery & Tavern, a New Orleans fixture since 1911, famous for these massive po'boys. It's just one of those perfect little things that bring all walks of life together. And damn, if it's a sandwich. You know? Narrator: He can go through 3,000 pounds of shrimp a week. So, what this is, is a sink that we just had chilled water pipe to. And it's just a quick thaw, thawing out our seafood. And if you look at them, they're peeled. We take that vein out because it's a cleaner shrimp.

It butterflies it a little bit more to kind of hold the batter and just make it a better bite. I'm going to scoop a heaping pile of it up. So, we're going to dust this up. Narrator: He coats them in only corn flour. Justin: We just use the natural juices and moisture from the shrimp to pick up that flour. You lightly, lightly shake that off. 350 degrees. That's pure vegetable oil. This one right here is getting that golden-brown color, right? Looking like little baby fried chicken. Watch this. You break that open. Look at that. Look at that little coating. Look at that Louisiana white meat in there. You can't get no better than that. Narrator: That shrimp will eventually meet one of these giant loaves. I think I'm almost two breads tall. Let's see. The French people kind of laugh at it because we call it French bread, but it's New Orleans French bread.

This ain't French bread. Narrator: Justin hits the bread with some mayo, lettuce, and tomato. Justin: And then we start dealing this shrimp. Producer: Two handfuls?! Justin: Oh, no, we put more than that, yeah. I mean, we — Producer: Four handfuls?! Justin: It's a big sandwich. But you'll notice, when you see this thing laid out in front of you, you'll be like, How am I going to eat all that? And then all of a sudden it's gone. So, we do one fold. Tuck these in. Wrap it. We're going to put one more on there. There you go. Parkway Bakery shrimp po'boy. Producer: Where's that go now? In my belly, baby. Narrator: About 1,000 people line up every day for these sandwiches. And Justin credits local shrimp for his award-winning recipe.

Justin: You know, I've had people try to sample me foreign. The batter won't stick on it. It's translucent when you cook it. You never see this pretty white meat. It still looks clear. It still looks like this when you cook it. But this Louisiana shrimp's true and true every time. Can't beat it. Narrator: Justin gets most of his shrimp from this factory, right up the road. Kristen Baumer is one of the few processors left in the area who only works with Gulf shrimp, just like his family has for over 130 years. Kristen: We've definitely seen a lot of processors go out of business. It's become more of a volume game because the margins are so tight. Narrator: His company processes 30 million pounds of shrimp annually. So, what we're doing is easy-peeling shrimp. We're hand-feeding it into a machine that splits the back of the shell, cuts the shell open,

and then it allows, when you cook it, more flavor to get into the shrimp, as well as making it easier to peel. Narrator: Kristen's team flash-freezes all the crustaceans in this room. That's how they're able to transport the shrimp all over the country. Kristen: So, they're picking shrimp for the second time to make sure they get all the defects out of it before it goes up. Narrator: This shaker separates the pieces, so they won't stick together when they're frozen. Then they take a trip down this tunnel at minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Narrator: This machine portions the seafood into 5-pound bags of about 15 pieces. Each bag gets a traceability barcode. Narrator: This processed product comes out to anywhere from $7 to $10 a pound, depending on the season. Kristen: With inflation, everything is getting more and more expensive,

and running these processing plants and all this moving equipment and avoiding breakdowns takes a lot of capital. Narrator: People have been fishing and processing this shrimp in Louisiana for centuries, from Cajun fishermen to the indigenous people of the United Houma Nation. In the 1800s, shrimp was a staple food of the poor. And sellers couldn't transport it far because shrimp spoiled so easily in the Louisiana heat. That was, until the mid-1800s, when several advancements brought shrimp beyond the local scene. Chinese immigrants introduced traditional drying techniques that could preserve the shrimp. And the first canning factory in New Orleans opened up in 1875. But fresh shrimp transported on ice was expensive, so it took on a reputation as a luxury item, tossed into shrimp salads and perched in cocktails. By the 1950s, techniques to freeze shrimp and new refrigerated trucks sealed the deal. They allowed for seafood delivery

as far away as the East Coast and Chicago. This was about the time that the shrimp imports into the US from Mexico, and then India, began to take off. By 1970, demand across the US had nearly tripled, and domestic shrimpers caught more to keep up, with Louisiana leading the pack. By the '90s, the state's shrimp and shellfish generated nearly $2 billion and supported 22,000 jobs. And come the turn of the century, shrimp became the most consumed seafood in America. At the same time, new tech helped farms in Asia and South America raise a lot more shrimp. In less than a decade, farming production skyrocketed nearly 200%, overtaking global catches of wild shrimp. In 2023, the US imported 1.7 billion pounds, nearly as much as its population consumes. And these imports are often cheaper than wild-caught US shrimp. That's because labor costs are lower.

in big shrimp-farming countries like India and Ecuador, and their governments have subsidized these operations. In the US, domestic shrimp prices have dropped to compete with the low import prices. Meanwhile, shrimpers like Capt. Lonies Mayeux Jr. are facing skyrocketing costs of operating a boat. You're wasting fuel and ice if you don't catch anything. Narrator: Since the 1980s, he says, a block of ice has gone from $14 to $26 today, a set of new nets more than doubled, and a gallon of gas more than tripled in price. At 82 years old, Lonies, who goes by Knuckles, hasn't given up trawling these waters, even after six decades. Starting in May, he heads out to catch brown shrimp, usually around sunset. You have to go do your homework and know where they're going to be at. Narrator: He works independently,

like most of the shrimpers here. Right about there. Little too far. Narrator: During the day, brown shrimp may bury themselves in the sediment to hide from predators. But after dark, they often come out and roam in shallow water. Knuckles and his deckhand Steve drop these nets that skim the top of the water. Knuckles: We're not dragging anything on the bottom. Narrator: He positions himself against the current, so the shrimp flow right into his nets. Knuckles: The shrimp are not like fish. They can't really swim that great. They take a ride on the current. Narrator: Knuckles and Steve will pick out and keep just the shrimp. Sea turtles have an escape hatch in the net and other animals get thrown back into the sea, where some dolphins are waiting to chow down on them. Knuckles: If we don't pick up in their favor often enough, they'll take and bite it out the net.

Steve: They can literally rip a 4-foot hole in it, which is going to take a lot of time to fix. Narrator: Like this one. Knuckles pulls up the net so he can sew it closed. Narrator: This work can be grueling. Some shrimpers have big enough vessels, they can stay out for weeks at a time. Knuckles has a smaller boat, so he fishes just until morning. Well, it keeps you in shape. Narrator: But even after all this work, there's a chance they could have a bad run. Tonight, most of the nets were full of catfish. Knuckles: Ooh, catfish. Knuckles: Full of shrimp. They went in the net and ate all the shrimp. We ain't got a pound of shrimp. It's all catfish. I'll try pushing up, going a little further up in the lake or something. Narrator: Knuckles spent $45,000

buying and fixing up his boat. It was meant to be his ticket to retirement, but now he's unsure that plan will work. Knuckles: You know, for me to get out of the business, I got to sell it. I got no retirement. But I can't sell the boat. Can't give it away. Nobody wants it. Narrator: And most shrimpers agree it's getting harder to justify going out. Right now, nobody want to do it no more because they're struggling. Narrator: Melena Chiev has been fishing for eight years. Like 60% of the state's shrimp-boat owners, she and her husband are originally from Southeast Asia. With our education, there's nothing else we could do besides fishermen. Especially me and my husband, in our mid-50s. Narrator: Melena and her husband weren't able to go to college. But they hoped shrimping would help their kids do the opposite.

It's not enough to pay, especially when you have two kids in college. You're struggling. Narrator: Dock owners are feeling the impact too. Dean: That's a pretty shrimp. Narrator: Dean Blanchard's family has been buying and selling local shrimp for five generations. Dean: I was born in a shrimp dock. When I was a baby, they used to put me in a shrimp box. Narrator: His dock, two hours south of New Orleans, was once one of the biggest shrimp suppliers in the country. But last year he paid the lowest prices he ever has for the larger shrimp. Dean: 30-something years ago, they went down from $5 to $1.30. Narrator: That's because he's selling it for so little to the peeling factories. Right now is the cheapest I ever seen in my life. I'm sick to my stomach. I ain't never seen nothing like this.

Never. Never in my life seen it this bad. Narrator: After six decades in the industry, Dean's no stranger to financial challenges, from the 2010 BP oil spill to big storms. His dock had $2 million in damages after Hurricane Ida hit in 2021. Where you're standing right there wasn't even there after the storm. I mean, I've rebuilt this building at least eight, nine times. Narrator: He never fixed up this part of his marina. Dean: Oh, it brings tears to the eyes. I mean, everything you work for all your life is gone. Narrator: But imports, he says, have done even more damage. Peyton: We're directly correlated with imports. If a completely processed product is coming in for just over $4 a pound, that means our dockside prices have to be lower, the processor's prices are lower, so to be able to try to get that market share and keep it.

So you're making the same amount of money that you would in 2000, but 22 years later. Narrator: Fewer boats can afford to go out, so less shrimp is landing on Dean's dock. Dean: We're down to right under 20% of what we normally are for this time of the year. Narrator: On this day we visited in May 2023, not a single shrimp boat pulled up to unload. Dean: It ain't going to last too much longer like this. Thank God I'm almost 65 years old and I ain't got no kids in this business. Narrator: Dean estimates that 96% of the docks operating when he started out have since closed down. Dean: I feel bad for the people because I know once I'm gone, they're going to have to drive 50, 60, 70 miles to go sell their product. Narrator: Just like Knuckles, when Dean retires,

he doesn't think anyone will buy the company. Dean: Nobody can afford to take it over. The property is worth more than the business. Narrator: Louisiana still hauls in the most shrimp of any US state, over 70 million pounds in 2023. But that's a small fraction of the roughly 2 billion pounds the US consumes. The American landings of shrimp cannot cover the overall consumption of shrimp. Narrator: Nearly 90% of the shrimp Americans eat is imported, and much of it is sourced using controversial practices. In 2021, an International Trade Commission analysis indicated that shrimp might be the US seafood market most affected by illegal fishing. Like this boat, off the coast of Gambia. It had an illegal undersized net, and although the shrimp was labeled sustainable, 99.9% of the seafood on board were other species, like sharks and octopuses. And a lot of time that bycatch dies on the deck.

and just gets thrown back into the ocean. Narrator: But the majority of the shrimp the US imports is farm-raised. Max: A lot of our shrimp comes from India, where there are huge environmental concerns as well as ongoing allegations of human rights abuses and forced labor. Narrator: A 2024 Associated Press report found women in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh were peeling frozen shrimp without protective gear, which can lead to frostbite. Max: It's kept incredibly cold to keep bacteria from proliferating. I don't know about you, but I don't want to hold ice cubes in my hand all day while I'm also trying to do very nimble work with my fingers. One of the huge issues is that these shrimp farms are isolated. They're far out on the coast. There's not OSHA. There's no one protecting and making sure that the conditions are safe. Narrator: But they have few other options for work.

Max: A lot of times when these aquaculture facilities are built, other economic resources in these areas disappear. Narrator: Erugula Baby is still trying to pay off an $8,500 loan she took out when her son was dying of liver disease. Since he passed, she's been raising her grandchildren alone. To get to the peeling shed, she has to pay for transportation and $0.25 to a recruiter. She earns below $4 every day, $2 under the country's minimum wage. A lot of times we will see a woman being threatened for her own safety or her family's safety unless she works, unless she meets certain quotas. Narrator: Beyond the human cost, there's also an environmental one. In India, most of the farms are along coastlines where water is plentiful and mangrove forests thrive. Max: Those mangroves go through deforestation. They're pulled out. They're blown up with dynamite.

So we lose that nursery habitat for other sea creatures, and we lose our coastline protection. Narrator: When that happens, shrimp can have 10 times the carbon footprint of beef. Max: Next, these really big ponds are dug into the land. The shrimp live in these ponds. Narrator: Chemicals and excrement from shrimp pens can leach out into surrounding environments. They can cause algae blooms and dead zones, disrupt ecosystems, and contaminate water. Shrimp farms around the world have been criticized for using antibiotics to treat illness in their ponds. Max: If you've ever ridden the subway home at rush hour, you know how it is. You're in tight, you're squeezed in tight. There's great opportunities for sickness to spread. And it's that exact same situation in these ponds, which is why antibiotic use is so incredibly high. Narrator: That overexposure can lead

to antimicrobial-resistant superbugs, a health concern that's estimated to have caused nearly 1.3 million deaths around the world in 2019. And some antibiotics, like nitrofurans, have been linked to liver disease and cancer. In the US and European Union, almost all of these kinds of drugs are banned. So you could end up eating something that's illegal here. Narrator: In 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration turned away 51 shipments of shrimp because of banned antibiotics. But the organization checks just about 2% of imports. Max: So what happens with that other 96% to 98% of seafood that's coming in? Peyton: The major health concern here is the lack of testing of imported shrimp, the amount of banned substances that may be carried in these shrimp. Narrator: A 2017 LSU study found that 30 out of 42 samples tested from stores around Baton Rouge had antibiotics or antimicrobials.

And that's largely due to the fact that the FDA is responsible for more than 50 million imports annually. And there's just not enough work power to inspect everything coming in. Narrator: In the last year, the US Department of Commerce has imposed duties on shrimp from India, Vietnam, and Ecuador. But these efforts, Louisiana shrimpers tell us, haven't been enough to help their incomes. Imported shrimp is still flooding the market. That's why locals like Kristen have been advocating for more regulation. He's a part of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force, which works with the state government on long-term solutions. We need country-of-origin labeling on restaurant menus, so at least when people buy, they're buying and making a choice. Narrator: In 2019, the Louisiana Legislature passed a law requiring restaurants to disclose if their shrimp is imported. But some restaurants still passed off imported as domestic. The state's health department

has handed down 2,600 violations since the law went into effect, but no restaurants were ever fined. In May 2024, the governor signed a bill for heavier fines on restaurants that mislabel seafood. If they're busted, they could be fined up to $2,000. While Justin says he'll never touch imported shrimp, he can understand why restaurants turn to it when the local stuff gets expensive. Justin: They're looking for a good product that will get the register to ring, and so you can't blame them either. Narrator: With dock prices so low, he paid $4 a pound in 2023, almost half of what he was paying two years ago. Justin: I understand that. When I get a cheap price, I know the shrimpers out there on the boats are probably getting hammered. But if it went back to $7 a pound, I'd still buy it. I'd just have to go up on my price.

Narrator: A price he says he's lucky his customers would probably pay. Justin: You're talking to one of the busiest po'boy shops in the city. What about the corner stores who are just living from day to day? There has to be some kind of medium. I just hope it'll work itself out. This has been little small holes pecking away for 30, 40, 50, 60 years. You know? And it's, yeah, it's coming where, uh-oh, it's starting to take water. We're going down in the seafood industry. Narrator: The fact is the US eats so much shrimp that the stuff caught in the Gulf could never cover it all. So farmed crustaceans will probably always fill that gap. Justin: It has to come down from Washington. It has to be some work done up there with regulating the imports. Narrator: Dean wants federal assistance for shrimpers.

Dean: There wouldn't be a farmer left in business if they had to live like we live. They're being subsidized for that. Shrimpers should be considered farmers of the sea, but we're not. Narrator: More inspections of seafood at US ports and better traceability of shrimp from boat to plate would also help. But some experts say it comes down to better consumer awareness of the health benefits of wild-caught shrimp over farmed, like how the salmon industry got people to pay more for wild-caught thanks to messaging that it was more nutrient-dense. Dean: If people would know exactly what they're buying and they know exactly what they're feeding their kids, they wouldn't mind paying a couple of cents more for a product that doesn't have antibiotics. Narrator: In the grocery-store aisle, don't be fooled by tricky labeling like product of USA or prepared in the USA. That could be referring to where the shrimp

was last processed, not necessarily where it was caught. Flip to the back of the package and look for the phrase farmed raised or wild-caught in followed by a country name. That should tell you where it's from. Purchase US farmed or US wild-caught shrimp. In the US, farmed shrimp are held to very strict regulations in regards to what antibiotics they can use and how much. Narrator: And when you're at a restaurant ... Max: I always ask, Where is that shrimp from? And if that restaurant can't answer that, then I don't order it. Or maybe we should just eat a little less shrimp and take it back to being a special-occasion item. Narrator: Backed by consumer awareness, maybe then shrimpers can save their sinking ship. Justin: We have to have it, and we will always have it. Parkway Bakery will always have Louisiana shrimp.

I'll get on a boat my damn self, you know? This is my father-in-law, my wife right here. And we met back six, seven years ago in a po'boy competition. And that's how we met. And I won by a hair. You know, I won in the short run; she definitely won in the long run. Producer: You're not allowed to bring it up, though. No, I'm not allowed to bring it up.

Why Louisiana's $1.3 Billion Shrimp Industry Could Go Extinct | Big Business | Business Insider

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