Florida shrimp industry realizes benefits from state marketing campaign

By Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Battered by more than 1 billion pounds of low-priced foreign shrimp coming into the United States each year, Florida's ocean-caught shrimp industry is half the size it was a decade ago.

But armed with $1.2 million in federal money, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wants to help keep the industry afloat.

In April, the state launched its "Florida Shrimp — Wild and Wonderful!" marketing campaign.

"Our goal is for consumers who want 100 percent natural, clean shrimp to ask for Florida domestic shrimp. It's the taste of the shrimp you grew up with," said Joanne McNeely, chief of the department's Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing.

The campaign includes radio and television ads and is working with retailers and restaurants to let consumers know all shrimp is not the same.

Shrimp caught in Florida waters usually cost $1 to $3 a pound more than foreign imports but are superior in quality, McNeely said.

So far, the 2,300 retailers in 15 states, including Florida, who have participated in the Wild and Wonderful promotion reported sales increases this spring of 90 percent to 1,900 percent, McNeely said.

Florida's shrimpers produced 18 million pounds in 2002 and had an economic impact on the state of more than $100 million.