Fuel costs and imports squeeze South Carolina shrimpers as they vote in the US midterms

In Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, for shrimper Mark Marhefka the weather can be the difference between a profitable fishing trip and a dangerous one. A shrimper and fisherman for 49 years, Marhefka relies on forecasts, weather buoys and data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to decide when it is safe to take his boats offshore.

Storms and warm water temperatures have disrupted this year's fishing season, and Marhefka worries that President Donald Trump's proposed funding cuts could further reduce the services fishermen depend on. He said NOAA has already started being cut back and more cuts are being looked at for the next fiscal year, and that the service is something they need to fight for.

Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, NOAA has lost roughly 20 percent of its workforce, according to an analysis of federal employment data. The administration's proposed 2027 budget would cut funding for ocean monitoring and terminate a programme supporting regional ocean observations.

Weather is only one of the pressures facing South Carolina shrimpers as they head to the polls on Tuesday for the US midterm elections. Rising fuel prices, equipment costs and competition from imported shrimp are also weighing on people who make their living from the water.

Marhefka believes Democrats could address these pressures better than Republicans. He said fuel costs have doubled since Trump has been back in office, that he voted Democrat, and that he thinks Annie Andrews will help South Carolina.

At an election-eve rally in Charleston on Monday, the state's Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews appealed to voters like Marhefka, saying she is fighting for a South Carolina people can afford and to lower the diesel costs of farmers, fishermen and shrimpers.

John Henry Middleton, an 81-year-old fisherman who has been shrimping for about 50 years, is an undecided voter frustrated with both parties, arguing that politicians make promises but fail to work together on issues affecting common people. His concerns include the cost of living and whether he will have enough money to support himself in retirement; he said he has paid taxes and worked for decades but still has to work at 81.

Kevin S, who works at Geechee Seafood on Shem Creek, said he plans to vote Republican on Tuesday. He said many people in the fishing industry lean Republican because they see government regulation as an obstacle to making a living, describing a heavily regulated industry with a lot of red tape and some fishing permits costing thousands of dollars.

The pressures are also evident in the dwindling number of businesses around Shem Creek, a historic fishing area near Charleston. Cindy and Taylor Tarvin, co-owners of Tarvin Seafood, estimate that only about eight shrimpers remain in the area, saying younger captains can make a living, but not a lavish one.

The Tarvins' diesel costs rose sharply this year, from $2.71 per gallon at the start of the year to $5.99 by late September. The American Automobile Association (AAA) reported that South Carolina's average retail diesel price reached a record $6.17 that month.

Imported shrimp is another major challenge. According to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, the United States imported 1.59 billion pounds, or about 721,000 tonnes, of frozen warmwater shrimp in 2025, a 2 percent increase from the previous year, and foreign shrimp is often sold at lower prices, making it difficult for domestic fishermen to compete.

In July 2026, the Trump administration imposed additional tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on imported shrimp from major suppliers including India, Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. The tariffs initially raised hopes, but the Tarvins said they have yet to see a meaningful benefit in the prices they receive, while tariffs on steel, aluminium and products made from them have raised the cost of maintaining boats, Cindy Tarvin said.

For Marhefka, rising costs are part of a broader frustration with the country's direction. He said they are being squeezed too hard and he does not think they can handle another two more years of it.