USDA buys $16M of Oregon shrimp as fleet faces setbacks

Oregon pink shrimp. Photo by ODFW

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Oregon pink shrimp industry is getting a much-needed boost from the federal government this spring after another round of international trade disruptions threatened to sideline the start of the 2025 season.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will purchase $16 million worth of Oregon pink shrimp through a program aimed at stabilizing domestic food producers during economic hardship, according to an article by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).

The federal buy comes after processors along the Oregon Coast opted to delay the start of the Pacific pink shrimp season in early April, pushing back operations by at least two weeks due to ongoing uncertainty in overseas markets.

“They decided to wait and put it off two weeks at least,” Nick Edwards told OPB, Edwards, secretary of the Shrimp Producers Marketing Cooperative and a commercial fisherman himself, cited lingering fallout from trade tensions that began with the Trump administration’s imposition of a 10 percent tariff on all imported goods to the U.S. In retaliation, the European Union —historically one of Oregon’s strongest markets for pink shrimp —levied a 25 percent tariff on U.S. cold-water shrimp, including Oregon pinks.

Go to this link to read the full article published by the National Fisherman https://www.nationalfisherman.com/usda-buys-16m-of-oregon-shrimp-as-fleet-faces-setbacks