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Hunter-gather techniques in the Gulf of Mexico will not satisfy the demand for shrimp of 290 million Americans. Our choices are (1) catch a few shrimp that sell for a high price and make them once or twice a year treats (like lobster in most of the US), (2) catch all the shrimp and wipe out shrimp and game fish breeding stocks, (3) farm our own shrimp, (4) buy imported farm raised shrimp. I favor 3. If Ron Paul want's to help he ought to sponsor legislation that makes shrimp farming easier.

Oh, and those shrimpers? Wild shrimp will still have a market if they work at it. Farm rasied salmon is dirt cheap, but Google(TM) Wild Irish Salmon and see what it sells for. This country has millions of sheep but fancy retaurants feature New Zealand lamb. Texas shrimpers, instead of trying to compete on price with an agricultural product need to compete on quality. The San Antonio Express (Lack of) News ran a multi day story about Texas Shrimpers a few months ago, and raised this very point. One of the shrimper's spokesmen disdainfully stated that he was offended at the idea that they should have have to market their shrimp. In his world shrimpers pull up to the dock and get a check.

Last nigh one the radio I heard an ad for a restaurant that featured "Wild Texas Gulf Shrimp" so perhaps there is some hope.

Shrimp die if water temperature dips below 40F. In the Continental U.S., the only places suitable for outdoor shrimp ponds are extreme south Florida and extreme Southern California, and real estate in both places is too valuable to use for shrimp ponds. Shrimp cultivation has been tried in the Mississippi delta and in South Carolina, but it hasn't worked very well. And it's damned hard to keep the herons, raccoons, otters, etc, from sneaking in and eating up the stock. If we want farm-raised shrimp, we'll be importing them.

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!