South Carolina shrimper says Trump's tariffs will provide 'immediate relief' to US fishery
CJ Seafood owner Craig Reaves spoke to “America Reports" about the benefits tariffs could do for the U.S. shrimp industry as it has been crushed by imports for "decades."
A South Carolina shrimper told Fox News on Friday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will provide "immediate relief" to a shrimp industry that has been "killed by imports" for decades.
CJ Seafood owner Craig Reaves told "America Reports" that so much of the industry is being outsourced to Southeast Asia, Ecuador, India and South America, while the U.S. fishery has been "crushed."
"I'm a lifelong shrimper. My dad was a shrimper, so we're generational fishermen, and we've been getting killed by imports for not just years, but literally decades," Reaves said. "So, we've been suffering for a long, long time, and these tariffs, we believe, are going to give us some immediate relief. Also, it's bringing attention to our industry, who is dying. We've outsourced our whole industry. Ninety-four percent of the shrimp consumed in the United States is imported."
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Reaves said shrimp imported from other countries is not necessarily raised in better environments than the shrimp in the United States.
"They're a pond-raised, farm-raised product. They don't care about the environment in Southeast Asia," he said. "They're destroying ecosystems, mangroves to put in these ponds. They're using illegal hormones and antibiotics. They're using forced labor, slave labor. All these things are documented. So, it's absolutely not a good product. The difference is, it's cheaper. Something we try to brand is, you know, good seafood ain't cheap, and cheap seafood ain't good."
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The South Carolina business owner explained that fulfilling the demands of the industry locally would not be possible due to lost infrastructure, but he is hopeful "help is on the way."
"In the seafood industry, we've been getting destroyed for decades," he said. "So, we've been living under pressure and pain, and I think this short-term pain is worth it in the end if we can save our industry. Unfortunately, we've outsourced way too much in the United States. We need to bring it home."
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