SEAFOOD STRUGGLE Shrimpers strike back

Houston Chronicle ^ | July 3, 2004, 12:34AM | NELSON ANTOSH

[hedgetrimmer]

that are not as impacted by the weather.

[DugwayDuke]

"The shrimp is being dumped (at below market prices) because the country contracted to buy it rejected it because it was contaminated.

So you don't want to discuss whether the shrimper jobs should be protected by tariffs?

[ThanhPhero]

The Viet Nam seafood producers are, in fact, free market operations. They have prospered since the government got OUT of the business. The American fisheries are all bound up with government regulations and restrictions and and subsidies and allocations and are a lot less guided by the market than are the Vietnamese shrimp and catfish producers. Cutting off the foreign produce is just another way the US government protects the industry from the consequences of the government manipulation of the American producers and the market. I know nothing about countries other than Viet Nam and the US but for VN the bans are simply making shrimp a luxury food for the wealthy and the politicals while poor quality catfish are mandated as what Americans are worthy of rather than the higher quality Vietnamese product.

Gulf and Atlantic free range shrimp, if you will, are tastier than the farm variety and can be marketed that way successfully. Farm shrimp are not quite so tasty as Gulf and Atlantic shrimp but they are quit good and can be enjoyed by people who can't justify the higher prices the ban will entail. Let the market work. Sell the elite shrimp to the elite and let me eat shrimp, too,

[Keshia]

Well I guess ever body just likes imported shrimp over wild caught shrimp but as a shrimpers wife and boat owner I know that wild caught shrimp is better all the way around so you might have to pay more money but all was remember you pay for what you get.

[Keshia]

I really don't know any shrimpers on welfare but one thing for sure only the strong will make it threw this and my family and other shrimpers families will to. and not be on welfare.

[Keshia]

Shrimping is not a disaster as you call it to the fish species. There are so many RULES AND REGELATIONS on SHRIMPRS that really make us loose alot of our shrimp!!!!

[Ditter]

Maybe it is different on your coast but I have seen the damage shrimpers, especially bay shrimpers, do to baby fish and crabs. Galveston Bay is the nursery where a number of species are hatched. Bay shrimping is for the use of fisherman wanting live bait. Bay shrimping should be a crime.

[Keshia]

Well just keep in mind that there are so many chemicals and bacteria in farm raised shrimp that I think I will just go down to my shrimp boat and get some shrimp for free and not have to worry about where it came from and if there are any chemicals or bacteria in it. Just remember you only get what you pay for you want cheap buy imports want Great buy wild caught.

[Keshia]

Well send your friend this way and he will get laughed at all the way back home. Us shrimpers that catch wild caught shrimp are not going anywhere it is the sport fishing that is all the TROUBLE they think they know everything and really all they know how to do is run there mouths at stuff that is not true like shrimping is environmentally destructive only in your dreams, and I don't plan on selling any of my licenses I don't care how low the price goes I have a place to tie my boat up at and to sell my shrimp all over the U.S. so I am not going anywhere!!!!

[saleman]

And the wild Gulf shrimp really do taste better. It's not like they've got to come up with some gimmick to market them. I've noticed several restaurants on the coast advertising wild shrimp. It looks pretty bad though. Without tariffs I believe commercial shrimping will be a thing of the past within 5 years. And that might not be a bad thing. Guess I'll just have to buy a shrimp net and catch my own!

[Keshia]

I really do not think the are going to put us shrimpers out of business that easy!! We will fight this all the way to the end. You don't see that word is spreading about wild caught shrimp ( T.V., Magazines,Radio And best of all word of mouth)and it is the fish houses and the retailers that make the price they pay the shrimpers one price then turn around and up the price so it is not the SHRIMPERS !!!!

[Keshia]

You better hope you cooked those imports long enough if not look out

[dljordan]

"I say we should all pay more for our shrimp...and our steel, carbon fiber, wood, cars, shoes, TVs, fruits, flowers, sugar, peanuts and textiles. Build a wall around the US."

What you want is to destroy American jobs and infrastructure to save some money. You know what the Chinese charge in tariffs on American cars imported to China? 25%! You know how much we will be charging the Chinese on the new cars they are going to start importing to the US next year? 3%. We are on the recieving end of some very BAD trade agreements to help the eternally "developing" countries. Trade agreements that were "fast tracked" with a lot of bribes in Washington.

[dljordan]

"I have a good friend in Texas who is leading a conservation initiative to buy up shrimping licenses and retire them. He's retired a bunch so far. I suspect these low prices will tempt more shrimpers to sell their licenses."

Well good for him! Maybe he can go to Asia when he's finished here and try to buy theirs up. I'm sure they want to save the environment too.

[kittymyrib]

Let foreigners eat their own shrimp. I don't like the idea of shrimp being imported from thousands of miles away and having the sellers mix these aged shrimp in with fresh caught domestic shrimp. Along with duties on imported shrimp and fish, there ought to be laws forbidding the mixing of imported and domestic catches and required labels telling the consumer where and when the product was caught. I seriously doubt that the regulations of the foreign farm pond seafood factories are as stringent as those in the US, and this is our food supply we are talking about.

[AGreatPer]

"The shrimp is being dumped (at below market prices) because the country contracted to buy it rejected it because it was contaminated."

Legit question. After I boil the heck out of it is it still contaminated?

[GladesGuru]

"After I boil the heck out of it is it still contaminated?"

First, prolonged boiling won't help the texture of the shrimp, and that doesn't include the fact that the older a shrimp get, the softer and more dehydrated it gets.

There are reasons for freezer dwell times for foods.

As for boiling as a sterilization method, it works for many diseases, but not for others. Viral diseases, like Hepatitis, can survive considerable boiling.

Shrimp has always been a dicey thing to buy. I knew some of the owners of large shrimp fleets and thus learned things about shrimp which I shall here pass on to those interested:
1. Do not buy breaded shrimp. When a boat comes in with shrimp that have spoiled, they are washed down with high pressure washes of chemicals and the breading is used to cover the remaining taste and the somewhat ragged appearance where the rotted shrimp has been washed off.

Control your gag reflex, Please!

Lest you assume that breaded shrimp is pure evil - remember the reason that curry was so popular for so long. Seems our ancestors used it, and other spices, to cover the aromas and flavors of rotten meat.

While we can all agree about rot in the body politic, rot in steaks is, in its early stages is called "aging" the steak. Severe rot in milk is what gives us cheese.

Soooo - what it all comes down to is which rot, if any, do you prefer?

[BellStar]

Come on down and talk to the real shrimpers!

http://www.kemah.net/

[BellStar]

Viral diseases!

Tabasco takes care of that!

http://www.kemah.net/

[BluH2o]

Shrimp Boats ...

Shrimp boats is a-comin'
Their sails are in sight
Shrimp boats is a-comin'
There's dancin' tonight
Why don't-cha hurry, hurry, hurry home
Why don't-cha hurry, hurry, hurry home
Look here! The shrimp boats is a-comin'
There's dancin' tonight
(Shrimp boats is a-comin', there's dancin' tonight)

(SLOWLY): They go to sea with the evenin' tide
And their women folk wave their good-bye
(Ill sant vas... There they go)
While the Louisiana moon floats on high
And they wait for the day they can cry...

Shrimp boats is a-comin'
Their sails are in sight
Shrimp boats is a-comin'
There's dancin' tonight
Why don't-cha hurry, hurry, hurry home
Why don't-cha hurry, hurry, hurry home
Look here! The shrimp boats is a-comin'
There's dancin' tonight
(Shrimp boats is a-comin', there's dancin' tonight)