News / American shrimpers welcome plan to 'make seafood great again'

© William Morgan

Fish and seafood supply chains could be set to change following a US plan to “restore American competitiveness” in the sector.

The plan, which aims to deregulate US fishing – including raising catch limits, preventing fishing grounds going to offshore wind companies, and expanding commercial fishing into previously protected areas such as the Pacific Islands – has been welcomed in the country. 

The Southern Shrimp Alliance said the executive order “directly confronts the existential threats facing our domestic shrimp industry – unfair trade practices, use of forced labour, unsafe imports, and regulatory imbalances – that have decimated America’s fisheries and coastal communities”. 

It added that US shrimpers “follow the world’s strictest regulations, [while] foreign competitors have benefited from an uneven playing field for decades”. 

It pointed in particular to India, currently in advanced talks for a trade deal with the US, which it said was planning to flood the US market with 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes of shrimp during the 90-day tariff pause. 

“This exploitative surge could devastate American shrimpers by filling cold storage facilities and collapsing wholesale prices just as our boats head out,” said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance.  

Canada could also be impacted: while in 2023 it imported $3.1bn-worth of US seafood, it exported $3.6bn in return. Tariffs on Canada are currently 25% for goods not covered under the USMCA trade agreement, meaning its seafood exports have already become less competitive. Some 75% of Canada’s frozen and processed lobster exports go to the US. 

Although the White House executive order initially demands research, allowing 60 days to develop a “comprehensive seafood trade strategy”, the tariffs on Canada – with its dislike of the US administration – mean some Canadian seafood exports are already looking to diversify from the US. 

Virgin Atlantic Cargo recently signed a BSA with Canada’s WestJet for capacity from Toronto to London, which could benefit from US trade restrictions. 

“If producers continue producing in Canada and find buyers elsewhere in the world than the US, that’s going to create a really interesting dynamic, with potentially more demand for airlift out of Canada to the UK and beyond. So I think it’s a really exciting opportunity, and for us a great time to have launched,” Virgin Atlantic Cargo boss Nick Diesel told The Loadstar. 

“I think the majority of it will be perishables. So I think we’ll see seafood, fruit, veg, etc, coming through. We’ll keep an eye on it, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the start in both directions,” he added. 

While US fishery associations welcomed the move, environmental groups, concerned about overfishing and marine protection, have criticised the plan. 

This article is © The Loadstar. Reproduction, rewriting, or derivative use requires a license. Contact [email protected] for licensing enquiries.