Research Description:

From Sea to Platter: The Shrimp Story

I am making a photo documentary on the shrimp industry. The project will concentrate on recent issues that have impacted local shrimpers, such as the net ban and the new regulation requiring shrimpers to use TEDs (turtle excluder devices). The emerging use of aquaculture to produce farm raised shrimp, and the impact of increased imports of frozen shrimp to the United States from other countries (Ecuador, China, and Taiwan, etc.) have also negatively impacted the local shrimpers.

I feel that the shrimpers have a story to tell. It seems inevitable that their way of life is coming to an end. Research shows that the wild captive shrimp industry has over reached maximum sustainability. Shrimp are scarce in the gulf and foreign competitors can offer a better price per pound. In small town communities along the gulf, local shrimpers are either packing up and moving out, or finding a new line of work.

I want to record these men's stories and faces for generations to come. I want to know what's happened from their point of view. My research will involve interviews with shrimpers, aquaculture farmers, biologists, and consumers. I will visit small coastal towns and learn as much as I can about the local shrimp industry. I will also attend the annual "blessing of the fleets", and visit a shrimp farm in Florida. Through photographs I hope to communicate the culture and tradition of shrimping in Florida's gulf coast.