How Do Shrimp Get From The Ocean To the Store?

Harvesting: Shrimp Boating

Until the 1970s, the path of shrimp to the grocery market nearly always started in the ocean. Shrimp boating is still popular but has shrunk as shrimp farms have started to flood the market with cheaper product. Shrimp boating consists of dragging a net in shrimp-rich areas such as the coasts of Alaska and Latin America. Shrimp boats used drift nets either attached to their boat or anchored to specific areas to catch the shrimp. The depth of the nets varies on the climate---colder climates push the shrimp deeper while in warm climates the shrimp live closer to the surface. After the net has drifted for awhile, the catch is hauled to the surface. The shrimp are separated from the rest of the catch. Everything that is not shrimp is washed off the boats to prepare for the next catch.

Harvesting: Shrimp Farming

The larger portion of shrimp in the marketplace now comes from shrimp farms. This is largely because of the lower price per pound, and an availability throughout the year. Fish farms start with hatcheries where shrimp are hatched and given time to develop. After they have grown large enough, the shrimp are transferred into man made ponds. The shrimp are fed and taken care of within the ponds until they are large enough to harvest. Since the fish can be kept at different stages of life in different areas, fish farms can have more than one harvest per year. The price is also significantly less to harvest shrimp on a farm, than to operate a shrimp boat operation. This allows fish farms to charge less for the product. However, the quality and taste of shrimp from fish farms is significantly less than the ocean harvested variety.

Shrimp Importing

The largest source of shrimp for North America is the southern hemisphere, such as Thailand, China, Vietnam, and India. In 2004 alone, over 1 billion pounds of shrimp were imported to the United States. (GLOBEFISH. "Thailand and China dominate US shrimp imports during first quarter." Shrimp Market Report. June 2004). These numbers only continue to increase as U.S. consumers look for cheaper prices for seafood. Though imported shrimp is much cheaper than domestic, there have been accusations of health issues related to imported shrimp, especially from China.

Processing and Packaging

Once the shrimp have been harvested from the ocean, they are sent to processing plants where they are sorted, cleaned, and packaged. If the harvest is being sent long distances, the shrimp are put through a flash freezing process. If their destination is close enough to ship fresh, they are packaged and sent out without going through the freezing process.

Wholesalers

After the shrimp have been processed and packaged, they are sent by refrigerated trucks to seafood wholesalers. Seafood wholesalers become the contact point for local grocery stores to buy their stock at wholesale prices. Once the price has been paid, the seafood is once again loaded on refrigerated trucks and delivered to grocery stores.