The Gulf states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and West Florida) produce 244 million pounds of shrimp per year. Shrimp production is extremely important to local economies in the Gulf South region – providing thousands of jobs and it is a large source of revenue. The average American consumes 4.0 lbs. of shrimp annually. Comparatively, this is out of 15.5 pounds of seafood people in the United States eat each year. Shrimp consumption is followed by salmon (2.3 pounds) and canned tuna (2.3 pounds).