US East Coast-based crab processor Mattamuskeet Seafood was one of 45 such crab processors in the state of North Carolina in the mid-1990s -- now it is one of 10, thanks to the rise inimported crabmeat, reported the Charlotte Observer.
Now, 91 percent of all the seafood Americans consume comes from overseas -- and crab is no different. In 2011, 99 percent of the 66 million pounds of canned crabmeat sold in the United States was imported from countries such as China, Indonesia, Venezuela and Mexico. Imported crabmeat is cheaper than what Mattamuskeetcan sell its product for. "It pushes prices down," said Cory Carawan, whose family owns the seafood company.
The family, and similar companies, also face the ongoing debate of raising wages for guest workers, which could rise from $7.47 an hour to more than $11 per hour.
Another challenge: There are fewer crabs being caught off the North Carolina coast, the Charlotte Observer added. Last year, North Carolina fishermen landed 25 million pounds of blue crab – a steady decline from a peak of 65 million pounds in 1996.
The Carawans future, as they see it, is continuing to diversify and creating products with the crabmeat. The make 1,000 crab cakes per day, sell crab claws and shucked oysters in the winter and hope to create new products. "I think we’ll be able to survive," Carawan said.