You may see fewer options this summer when it comes to seafood.
President Donald Trump imposed 10% tariffs on nearly all seafood imports, with China facing even higher tariffs.
The president said the sweeping tariffs on goods from other countries, announced in April, are an attempt to level the playing field with global trade.
Specialty fish markets in Minnesota told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS it is not only driving up their costs, but it is also impacting the supply of fish.
“We bring in anywhere from 12 to 18 varieties of different fresh fish a day,” said Chris Nelson, owner of Brookies Fish Market in St. Louis Park.
Nelson said about 40% of the fish in his store come from other countries because commercial fishing in the U.S. is strictly regulated, creating a need to import seafood in order to meet demand.
He has noticed rising prices from seafood wholesalers since the tariffs went into effect.
Brookies is trying not to pass the cost on to customers and has been absorbing the price increases for more than two months.
“Pennies add up to dimes, dimes add up to dollars, right? We’re just going to continue to tread water and fight this,” Nelson said.
He said the tariffs are also impacting the overall fish supply as some countries choose not to do business with the U.S.
“They might pick other people to sell to first, whether they tell us the truth about that or not. Availability should be strong, weather looks good, there should be a lot of fish in the pipeline and there’s not,” Nelson said.
Nelson said seafood businesses are also facing the impact of tariffs on other items, such as paper goods and wax boxes.
“In this industry, you have to operate smart, so what’s going to keep our lights on is limiting our waste,” Nelson said.
He is instructing workers to make changes where they can, such as double measuring every cut of fish in an effort not to waste any.
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