For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s CAFO’s vs. Free Range page.

Shrimp tops the list as America’s favorite seafood,1 but if you think that shrimp is being harvested off US shores and brought, fresh, into market – Forrest Gump style – you’re being misled.

“American shrimpers are a dying breed these days because they can’t compete with cheap, foreign imports,” Food & Water Watch reported.2

Today, the vast majority of shrimp (over 90 percent) come from industrial shrimp farms off the coasts of Thailand, Vietnam, Ecuador, and other countries, which are plagued with the same problems as land-based confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

“Chances are, the delicious shrimp cocktail you’re splurging on is loaded with antibiotics and chemicals because that, what goes into the cramped, dirty ponds made to mass-produce shrimp. Doesn’t sound yummy, does it?” Food & Water Watch states 3

What’s more, what you see on the label isn’t always what you get, as many shrimp products are mislabeled and completely misrepresented.

30% of Shrimp Products Are Misrepresented

The ocean conservation group Oceana tested 143 shrimp products from 111 US grocery stores and restaurants. Their DNA tests showed that 30 percent of shrimp products are misrepresented and 15 percent were mislabeled in regard to production method (farm-raised or wild-caught) or species.

Among the unsettling findings, farmed species were often labeled as “Gulf shrimp,” species were often mislabeled (or mixed together in one bag), and there was even a type of shrimp that’s an aquarium pet (not intended for consumption) in a bag of frozen shrimp salad!4 Of the 20 shrimp species identified, 40 percent were not previously known to be sold in the US.

The mislabeled shrimp were sold at both national and regional supermarkets (as well as smaller grocery stores), chain restaurants, and even high-end eateries. About 30 percent of the samples also lacked any labeling on country of origin and 29 percent didn’t state whether the shrimp was farm-raised or wild.