LOUISIANA (KLFY)--- Shrimping has been a way of life for Louisiana folks. People are able to support their families and feed others all over the country with their product.

"It is the food that we produce and put on people's plates," President of the Louisiana Shrimpers Association Acy Cooper said. "It means a lot to a lot of people. It means a lot to the state of Louisiana."

According to Cooper, the shrimping industry has taken a dip in the past 20 years because of cheaper imported products coming in from countries like Ecuador and China. Since then, the once $2.5 billion industry is now cut in half. Cooper said people's livelihoods will take a huge hit if the downward spiral continues.

"When it goes bad (then) everything else goes bad, so the economic impact could be devastating," Cooper said. "All these rural community all these lower ends where people are living because of the fact that this is what we do. You take that out of it you take the culture away you take the community away (then) what are you going to have?"

Cooper said a big issue currently is restaurants buying imported product without supporting local shrimpers. He is calling on the government to enforce policies where Louisiana fishermen can benefit from too.

"You are selling the culture and these other shrimps as local, and it is not ours," Cooper said. "This is something we have been trying to do here in the state. We are not backing down until it is done."