Assisting Shrimpers with Import Competition
North Carolina shrimpers benefited from Sea Grant assistance. Photo by Pam Smith.
North Carolina Sea Grant provided training that enabled local shrimpers to qualify for federal funding to compete with the influx of cheaper, imported shrimp.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made U.S. shrimp producers in the Gulf and South Atlantic states eligible for benefits from the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers and Fishermen Program. Sea Grant collaborated with local partners to develop and deliver technical training workshops to allow shrimp businesses to meet the requirements for the federal program.
Representatives from more than 170 local shrimp businesses attended the workshops. The shrimpers earned a total of more than 2,000 credit hours of training. In turn, they received $1.98 million in financial assistance to implement new business plans to respond to markets that include significant shrimp imports.