WASHINGTON — They survived hurricanes and oil spills, but Gulf Coast shrimp processors say there's no way they can battle foreign governments to stay in business.
While Americans gobble up imported shrimp as never before, processors from Florida to Texas say they can't compete with billions in subsidies that are propping up shrimpers in places such as China and Thailand while driving down the price for American consumers.
"You can buy shrimp cheaper than you can buy bologna right now .... We just don't have the kind of money and backbone to stay in business competing against these countries," said Richard Gollott Sr., a co-owner of Golden Gulf Coast Packing Co. in Biloxi.
With imports now accounting for more than 90 percent of the U.S. shrimp market, processors say it's time to fight back: They want the federal government to put new tariffs on imported shrimp, making it more expensive to sell in the United States.
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Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
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