Congressmen Gonzalez and Nehls Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Texas Gulf Coast Shrimpers

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) released the following statement regarding the introduction of H.R. 7932, Save our Shrimpers Act of 2024. This bipartisan bill was co-introduced by Congressman Gonzalez and his Republican colleague, Congressman Troy Nehls (TX-22). Domestic shrimpers in Port Isabel and throughout the United States continue to be impacted by foreign shrimp imports making it difficult to stay in business. This bipartisan effort, introduced just last week, would stop U.S. taxpayer money from financing foreign shrimpers.  

“Foreign shrimp imports continue to wreak havoc on South Texas’s shrimping industry,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “Our domestic seafood markets are flooded with foreign farm-raised shrimp which are subsidized by our federal dollars. We must put an end to this! That is why I’m proud to co-lead this bill to deter International Financial Institutions from financing foreign shrimpers with U.S. taxpayer money. We must do everything in our power to help the thousands of struggling shrimpers in our region and throughout the gulf.”” 

“Due to the global excess capacity and production of farm-raised shrimp and imports, the U.S. market is being overwhelmed and driving shrimp prices down to levels that many shrimpers cannot cover the cost of a single shrimp fishing trip,” said Congressman Nehls. “Shrimpers in the 22nd Congressional District of Texas, along the Gulf Coast, and Atlantic Coast are faced with similar difficult decisions of whether to catch shrimp, tie up the trawlers for the season, or even be forced to sell their trawlers. In order to save our nation’s shrimping industry, we must exhaust every legislative option on the table. I commend my colleagues for joining me in support of this important effort to save our shrimpers.” 

Congressmen Gonzalez and Nehls were joined by Clay Higgins (LA-03), Garret Graves (LA-06), Mike Ezell (MS-04), Barry Moore (AL-02), and Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) in introducing this bipartisan legislation.  

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