To live in South Carolina's Lowcountry is to love the Lowcountry — especially our fresh, local seafood. But lately, it’s harder and harder to find it.
Foreign countries flood our markets with cheap, low-quality shrimp and other fish, and our seamen — who play by the rules and follow the strictest standards in the world — get priced out of their own waters.
Our small business owners and world-class hospitality industry are counting on lawmakers to turn the tide.
Rep. Nancy Mace
Since 2021, the price of imported shrimp has dropped so dramatically the U.S. shrimp industry has lost more than $1.5 billion in value — nearly half of the entire market wiped out. Ninety-four percent of the shrimp — and most of the seafood — consumed in the United States is imported, compared to just 15% of all other food. South Carolina’s shrimpers, from the Lowcountry to the Grand Strand, are facing an unprecedented economic crisis.
President Donald Trump’s new reciprocal tariffs will be a lifeline to save our shrimping industry before it vanishes for good.
The South Carolina Shrimpers Association — whose members know these waters better than anyone — called these tariffs vital to protecting our local shrimping industry and ensuring the long-term health of our coastal communities. They’re right.
These tariffs hit back at the countries responsible for the dumping: India, Ecuador, Vietnam and Indonesia. These countries are propped up by foreign government subsidies and are selling shrimp at artificially low prices — undercutting our fishermen and destroying our market.
I introduced the Protect American Fisheries Act and cosponsored the Save Our Shrimpers Act to tackle foreign dumping head-on, cut off taxpayer dollars from supporting overseas shrimp farms and ensure economic sabotage from abroad is treated as a disaster — because it is.
These aren’t just economic numbers — these are family businesses, some going back generations. Fishing and shrimping are a way of life here, and that way of life is getting crushed.
What’s more, imported, pond-raised shrimp are a health concern. Only about 1% of imported shrimp gets inspected, and nearly a third of what’s inspected gets rejected — for problems such as banned chemicals, antibiotics, salmonella and filth.
It’s time we educate folks, from the Lowcountry to the Upstate, to demand U.S. wild-caught shrimp, especially the kind caught right here in South Carolina.
If we can’t stand up for the working men and women who make an honest living on the water, who will we stand up for?
I’ll keep pushing until those vacant fishing boats are being put to work again — not props for tourists. Because when we protect our fisheries, we protect our Lowcountry values — and America’s.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace represents the 1st Congressional District.