josephnewman
Antibiotic-contaminated shrimp------
Sun Mar 14 17:20:06 2004
64.140.158.70

Antibiotic-contaminated shrimp----------

3/15/04

To:
Mr. Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune
Mr. John McQuaid, The Times-Picayune
Mr. Gary Burris, PublicEyes-TV

Having read the lead, Sunday, New Orleans Times-Picayune article entitled, "Jumbo Shrimp War", I noted down in the body of the story the following:

(Page A-10):
"Europe also has decreed tough new inspections for chloramphenicol and other antibiotics used in farmed shrimp and destroys shipments found to contain trace contamination."

I also understand that Japan rigorously enforces its ban upon the importation of such antibiotic-contaminated shrimp from Southeast Asia.

QUESTION:

Why isn't that same procedure followed in the United States???

I have been informed by Mr. Gary Burris (239-272-0156), an independent documentary film producer based in Naples, Florida --- who has recently been filming in Louisiana --- that there are apparently Chinese-based corporations that are importing antibiotic-contaminated, Southeast Asian shrimp into Louisiana and even marketing such shrimp UNDER LOUISIANA LABELS ---- apparently attempting to imply that such shrimp are "home-grown".

I see at least TWO potential problems:

1) That such antibiotic-contaminated shrimp are coming into the U.S.

and

2) That imported shrimp are being fraudulently labeled.

As a seafood consumer and resident of New Orleans, I hope this matter can be investigated and --- if such antibiotic-contaminated, imported shrimp ARE coming into the U.S., that such a practice be immediately exposed and discontinued. Imported shrimp should also be labeled as such.

Mr. Anderson & Mr. McQuaid --- I hope you can fully investigate this matter.

Best regards,

ERS
========================

Southern shrimpers band together to fight markets awash in imports

How could news that seems so good - at least on the surface - translate into such bad times for the shrimp industry?

Shrimp recently displaced canned tuna as the most popular seafood consumed in the United States. That's good news to be sure.

But shrimp prices are at or near all-time lows in constant dollars. And there are a lot of trawlers up for sale along the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic coastlines.

An unprecedented wave of imported, farmed-raised shrimp - much of it said to be inferior in quality, some of it suspect on health issues - has flooded outlets nationwide. The imports have also knocked the bottom out of the domestic shrimp market.

For some shrimpers, the ex-vessel prices don't even cover the cost of fuel.

"They're desperate," says Janie Thomas, shrimper and president of Organized Fishermen of Florida, about Fernandina Beach/Mayport area skippers, in northeast Florida. "They're trying to hold on."

Big shrimp had been scarce, Thomas said in early November. Small 40-50 count shrimp had sold for as little as 50 cents a pound.

In Brunswick, Ga., 20-plus count heads-off shrimp were nearly $2 a pound off the 2001 price, according Elaine Knight, owner of Brunswick, Ga.-based Knight Seafood.

It's not exaggerating to say the shrimp industry as we have known it is fighting for survival. Landings have been good in some places and poor in others this summer and fall. But ex-vessel prices everywhere are terrible.

For example, average Gulf of Mexico brown shrimp prices dropped to $1.37 a pound in summer 2002, according to NMFS' most recent, preliminary numbers. To find a lower number you must search NOAA Fisheries records all the way back to 1978 - when the brown shrimp average annual price was $1.19.

But the situation actually is much worse than these numbers suggest. Using the Consumer Price Index to adjust for inflation, that $1.19 per pound in 1978 would have to increase to $3.28 in 2002 dollars to represent equal buying power.

To look at it another way: The 2002 brown shrimp ex-vessel value of $1.37 a pound represents the same buying power a 50-cent piece had in 1978. Shrimpers receiving $1.37 a pound ex-vessel in 2002 are much worse off than those who received $1.19 in 1978.

The import problem has been growing for years, but it came to a head in spring and summer of 2002. There were widespread reports of the dumping on U.S. markets of millions of pounds of chloramphenicol-contaminated Asian shrimp already rejected by Europe and Canada.

Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic that has been banned for food animal use in Europe and the U.S. because it may be linked to serious blood disorders in humans. Louisiana officials seized more than a million pounds of chloramphenicol-contaminated Chinese shrimp.

To avert economic catastrophe in the industry, Southern shrimpers have aligned to form the Southern Shrimp Alliance. The shrimping organization will represent shrimpers from North Carolina to Texas.

The alliance's goal is to stop unfair dumping practices through lawsuits against nations that may be selling shrimp below cost. The group hopes to level the playing field.

Thomas and Knight are among alliance leaders. So are Texas Shrimp Association director Wilma Anderson; George Barisich, president of the United Commercial Fisherman's Association; Bob Jones, director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association; and Jerry Schill of the North Carolina Fisheries Association.

Short of legal action, Knight says she doesn't see light at the end of the tunnel "unless we get this anti-dumping suit filed."

Shrimp imports have increased dramatically since the mid-1990s. But the tempo has picked up in the past two years. Between 2000 and 2001, annual shrimp imports increased from 760.8 million pounds to 882.6 million pounds.

And 2002 is well on its way to setting another import record. Shrimp imports for the first eight months of the year were 560.9 million pounds. For the same period in 2001, shrimp imports totaled 495.4 million pounds.

Most major U.S. fisheries have been fighting the import problem for years now. But the health issues raised by chloramphenicol contamination in some farmed imports may give the Southern Shrimp Alliance an edge in its effort to get some Department of Commerce help.

Short of legal action, shrimpers have been trying to educate consumers about the antibiotic-contaminated shrimp, Knight says. "The industry tried to get the word out that these shrimp are contaminated," she says.

Thomas says she sees that effort paying off. "I think," she says, "we are making a difference in getting the word out about buying domestic shrimp." - Hoyt Childers

^ BACK TO TOP
http://www.nationalfisherman.com/magazine-content/pastissues/feb2003.asp

-----------------------------

Searched the web for antibiotic-contaminated shrimp. Results 1 - 10 of about 11

• JUMBO TRADE WAR — John McQuaid, Sun Mar 14 17:35