Buying fresh, safe Louisiana seafood is even more important when you consider the potential health and economic threats from industrialized, imported seafood. 95% of the shrimp consumed in the US is imported and consumers don’t know what they are eating. The effects of cheap foreign shrimp imports have been well publicized.
The US Food and Drug Administration inspects less than 2% of seafood that is imported, which means that large quantities
of shrimp contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, antibiotics and pesticide residues are likely reaching consumers. In just the 1.2% of seafood that the FDA inspected in 2005, 2817 seafood shipments were found to be in violation and sent back or destroyed. |
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Economic Impact
Drastic reductions in dockside prices threaten the livelihoods of Louisiana shrimpers; many which are 3rd and even 4th generation shrimpers. Shrimp gear license sales have declined from approximately 44,000 in 1986 to 14,500 in 2008.
In 2000, approximately 6,900 commercial fishermen reported the number of shrimp fishing trips taken at 123,000 – by 2008, the numbers had plummeted to 2,900 shrimp fishermen and 41,000 commercial shrimping trips. |
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Health Implications
Thailand is the leading exporter of shrimp to the US, followed by Ecuador, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and Vietnam. These shrimp farm operators densely stock their ponds to produce as much as 89,000 pounds of shrimp per acre; traditional shrimp farms yield up to 445 pounds per acre. Although this creates profit in the short-run, the water is quickly polluted with waste, which can infect shrimp with diseases and parasites. In response, many such operations in Asia
and South or Central America use large quantities of antibiotics, disinfectants and pesticides that would be illegal for use in US shrimp farms.
The construction of shrimp ponds is considered the world’s largest cause of coastal mangrove destruction. Industrial shrimp facilities pollute the surrounding land and water and deplete the freshwater supply. Pond water is regularly discharged into the ocean, allowing diseases to spread to wild shrimp populations. After an average of 7 years, the ponds become so polluted with shrimp waste and chemicals that shrimp producers move on to build new ponds, leaving behind abandoned wasteland.
In addition to antibiotics, shrimp producers often use large quantities of chemicals to kill fish, mollusks, fungi, plants, insects and parasites in their ponds. All but one of the pesticides used globally in shrimp production are banned from use in US shrimp farms. |
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Negative effects of eating industrially produced shrimp:
• Neurological damage from ingesting chemicals such as endosulfans.
• An allergic reaction to penicillin residues.
• Infection by an antibiotic-resistant pathogen such as E. coli.
• The daily feeding of antibiotics to shrimp encourages antibiotic-resistance in the ponds as well as in people who consume
the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• In one study, shrimp cooked for 30 minutes at 212 degrees Fahrenheit still retained 71% of the antibiotic.
• V. vulnificus—same effect of food poisoning; for those with chronic illness, it can cause septic shock, resulting in death in
about half of the cases.
• V. cholerae—bacteria that causes cholera, without treatment death can occur.
• Salmonella—1/3 of human cases worldwide are resistant to five or more antibiotics. |
