GULF SHRIMP C A N N l NG PLANT WASTEWATER

The canning of shrimp was first successfully done i n 1867 by George W. Dunbar, an enterprising New Englander who settled i n New Orleans and operated a cannery after the C iv i l War. From this dif f icult and trying beginning, an industry has developed which consists of approximately 70 shrimp canners i n the United States, 25 of which are located on the coast of the Gul f o f Mexico. are primarily i n Louisiana and Mississippi on bays or bayous or within short trucking distance of the docks. remain family enterprises. The canneries compete for the available supplies of raw shrimp and generally obtain and process the smaller sizes, Therefore, the economical operating period i s generally during the short spring and fal l seasons when shrimp may be taken i n the regulated coastal waters. the variables of supply and the market price, the competition for the raw shrimp i s great and no plant i s assured that i t w i l l operate on a continuous schedule. Nevertheless, each plant which operates must be able to handle i t s perishable raw shrimp supply i n a short time. efficient mechanical operating basis. Most of the equipment i s o f the same or similar manufacture and the wastes created by the operating units have very similar characteristics. The Gu l f Coast Canneries