BIG SHRIMP

Kelly Gates

Mild-flavored and easy to cook, shrimp has become a key draw at supermarket seafood departments.

In fact, with Americans eating an average of 4 pounds every year, up from 2.8 pounds in 1998, it's now the country's most popular seafood, according to National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

That's big business for seafood importers, distributors and retailers, but one group -- U.S. shrimp fishermen -- complain they're not benefiting from the growth. Instead, domestic and foreign shrimp farms are responsible for the little crustacean's booming popularity. They've driven down costs and improved product consistency even as they've helped expand the variety of de-veined, peeled and precooked products available to retailers.

But, according to some retailers, it's not yet time to bid farewell to the farmed shrimp's more expensive wild cousin.

Maria Brous, spokeswoman for Publix Super Markets, said there is still demand for both in the market. The Lakeland, Fla.-based chain carries farm-raised and wild-caught shrimp, promoting the benefits of each to its customers.

"We offer farm-raised shrimp for its availability, consistent high quality and convenience since it comes cooked, easy-to-peel or already peeled and de-veined," Brous said. "We also have wild-caught and promote its flavor and the fact that consumers eating it are supporting the U.S. shrimping industry."

In some regions, customers won't settle for anything else. In coastal states such as Louisiana, for example, many chains carry only wild-caught shrimp as it supports the local shrimping industry and caters to an acquired taste for fresh seafood.

This is true of Rouse's Supermarkets of Thibodaux, La.

"Shrimp is such a big part of the culture in Louisiana that our shoppers demand wild-caught shrimp that has been taken from the Gulf of Mexico by Louisiana shrimpers," said Tim Acosta, director of marketing for the 21-store chain. "Nobody around here even thinks about buying farm-raised."

Rouse's is so dedicated to offering locally caught shrimp that the chain established its own private-label brand in partnership with a local shrimp packaging company. The line includes a 5-pound box of IQF, wild-caught shrimp, and its most recent addition, a 1-pound bag of IQF, wild-caught white shrimp.

During shrimping season, the chain also purchases between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds of freshly netted shrimp from a local shrimping outfit, distributing the seafood to its local stores for sale in their seafood cases each Friday.

"We promote the freshly caught shrimp in our weekly circulars every week during the shrimping season," Acosta said. "We have unpeeled, headless and peeled fresh shrimp, some that is uncooked and some that we boil for our shoppers."

For the past few years, Rouse's has also promoted wild-caught in its stores with overhead signs near the seafood cases. Since beginning the in-store promotional campaign, shrimp sales have notably increased, Acosta added. (Acosta discussed this issue with SN more than a week prior to Hurricane Katrina. The city of Thibodaux was spared major hurricane damage, but it was unclear how the devastating storm would affect the region's shrimping industry.)

One thousand miles north, Sendik's, a three-store chain based in Whitefish Bay, Wis., stocks both farm-raised and wild-caught shrimp. Convenience, price and individual taste preferences drive the chain's shoppers to choose one variety over the other, said Nick Balistreri, chain owner and self-proclaimed seafood connoisseur.

Personally, Balistreri prefers wild-caught shrimp due to its fine taste and texture. But, despite the noticeable taste difference, he admits that selling wild-caught to the average consumer can be difficult.

"A lot of the wild-caught shrimp isn't peeled and has a tendency to look a little slimy, which isn't as attractive to some consumers," he said. "Farm-raised is less expensive, is almost always ready to eat and simply looks better in the packaging to our shoppers."

Balistreri runs Sendik's seafood departments and is surprised that many wild-caught producers don't peel, de-vein or cook their products, all of which make the fishy food appear cleaner and tastier. By simply adding a step or two to processing, they might be able to better compete with farm-raised, he said.

Wild-caught promoters had hoped country-of-origin labels would cause consumers to focus more on buying American. Balistreri disagrees.

"We only have a very small percentage of customers who are actually concerned with country-of-origin labeling and for others who notice the labeling, it becomes more of a fascinating topic of discussion around the dinner table than an issue," he said. "People are typically excited about eating cod from Fiji one night and shrimp from another country the next."

Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets sells mostly farm-raised shrimp, but during annual shrimping seasons, the chain temporarily carries wild-caught. Because many consumers are still learning about their shrimp choices, the company's Web site contains a wealth of information on both farm-raised and wild-caught.

Topics on the site range from where Wegmans' farm-raised shrimp is raised and how the supermarket selects which aqua farm to purchase from to the differences between white shrimp and black tiger shrimp and how chefs should cook farm-raised shrimp, which has thicker shells that conduct heat more efficiently.

"The fact that Wegmans has so much information on the topic is proof that consumers are starting to become aware of the difference," said Evie Hansen, spokeswoman for the National Seafood Educators Association, Richmond Beach, Wash.

"Wegmans was the first to carry River Canyon salmon in the midst of the farm-raised salmon controversy and they're now focusing on educating their consumers about farm-raised shrimp in the same light."

Hansen predicted the shrimp industry will eventually have to answer the same questions asked of the salmon industry, such as which variety is healthier to consume and why aren't there enough wild shrimp to satisfy demand?

As for wild-caught producers trying to win over consumers through intense promotional activity, most of the supermarkets interviewed believe cost and limited supply will continue to keep a stranglehold on shrimpers into the future.

With more than 80% of all seafood imported, including the volumes of shrimp shipped from foreign aquafarms, domestic fisheries have their work cut out for them if they expect to maintain a portion of their continually decreasing share of the market.

This reliance on farm-raised shrimp is expected to grow in coming years, said Stacey Felzenberg, spokeswoman for the National Fisheries Industries in McLean, Va.

"We will need to grow upwards of 45% more farm-raised seafood in the future in order to meet the demand while still maintaining some wild-caught production, too," she said, citing statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

There will always be a market for wild-caught but most likely, it will remain a niche category, she said.