Trade Adjustment Assistance
UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant helped bring almost $2 million in federal funding to Georgia shrimpers, allowing them to remain competitive in a global market.
Trade Adjustment Assistant Training
The TAA training not only enabled Georgia’s shrimpers to receive cash benefits, but it also has equipped them with updated and competitive strategies for competing locally and globally in the ever-changing shrimping industry.
Over the past three years, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant have helped bring almost $2 million in federal funding to Georgia shrimpers through the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers (TAA) program. These efforts have enabled a staggering 94 percent of all eligible participants in the Southeast Region to complete the full program, well above the national average of 74 percent.
Shrimping in Georgia was part of a flourishing industry. However, today Georgia shrimpers face plummeting wages, shriveling profit margins and fierce competition from imported farm-raised shrimp that place the local shrimping industry in jeopardy.
In 2010, the shrimping industry became eligible for the TAA program, which offers financial and training assistance to agricultural producers and fishermen whose industries have been adversely affected by international trade.
UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant have provided TAA education and training to Georgia’s shrimpers, with courses focused on increasing profits, improving production and developing marketing opportunities. Additionally, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant designed and offered two additional courses specifically for Georgia shrimpers: safety training and responding to consumer questions.
Through the Georgia TAA program, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant faculty and staff helped 175 applicants gain eligibility for this federal funding. Of these approved applicants, 161 completed the program, including a minimum of 12 hours of intensive training (online and in-person at UGA’s Brunswick facility) and successfully developed a long-term business plan with a professional business consultant.
These 161 applicants have each received $12,000 to improve their businesses, totaling $1.9 million.