Midwest People-where do you buy wild caught shrimp?

lporter229

I choose not to buy imported, farm raised shrimp, but I am struggling to find good wild caught shrimp in the grocery store. I usually buy the Kroger gulf shrimp in the frozen bag. The last 3 bags I have bought have been very disappointing. Small shrimp, some just pieces and some did not look worthy of eating. Considering the price of these things, I need to look for an alternative. Any suggestions??

I am in Ohio, BTW.

jenslife82

Move to Maine? Lol. You can buy them off the side of the road sometimes here. Do they have a seafood counter at the grocery store? Buying it fresh or even frozen fresh is usually better than the bags in the frozen foods section. Good luck!

srp2011

Do you have a Whole Foods or similar type store nearby? They are very good about environmentally-friendly, sustainably caught seafood and very high quality - pricier than Krogers but worth it.

AnninStPaul

I would say Whole Foods for wild caught, but would encourage you to re-think farmed seafood. The industry is moving away from ocean pens to high tech pools, which avoid the risks and environmental impact of ocean pens. They use the waste from the fish to grow other things, so the waste isn't going into the water system.

As for the shrimp at your grocers fish counter...I go to one of the higher end chains in the Twin Cities, and the shrimp in their fish case is exactly the same as the prepackaged store brand, which is actually rather good. The shrimp (like crab legs) are processed, packaged, and frozen immediately rather than refrigerated.

lporter229

Move to Maine? Lol. You can buy them off the side of the road sometimes here. Do they have a seafood counter at the grocery store? Buying it fresh or even frozen fresh is usually better than the bags in the frozen foods section. Good luck!

Would love that...at least for the summer anyway. As far as the seafood counter at the grocery, they just thaw out the stuff that is in bags.

I bought wild caught shrimp from Whole Foods once about a year ago and found it to be inferior to the Kroger brand and not worth the extra price, but now that the Kroger brand has taken a nose dive in quality, maybe I will have to give it another try.

@Annin StPaul, can you speak for shrimp imported from Vietnam, because that is what my grocery carries. I will have to look into it, because the last info I read on the shrimp farming industry in Vietnam was not good.

AnninStPaul

@Annin StPaul, can you speak for shrimp imported from Vietnam, because that is what my grocery carries. I will have to look into it, because the last info I read on the shrimp farming industry in Vietnam was not good.

i can't speak for Vietnam directly, I would suggest emailing Kroger about their sourcing standards.

lporter229

Thanks!

ShannonMpls

Trader Joe's.