The shrimpers sent petitions to the Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission asking for that conditions of fair trade to be restored by imposing anti-dumping duties on the shrimp imports from the six countries.

Preliminary duties could be imposed on shrimp imports in the spring depending on rulings from the two agencies.

"The US shrimp industry is in dire straits due to unfair imports," said Deborah Regan, spokeswoman for the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

The industry group, representing shrimpers in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, complain that several countries have flooded the US market with pond-raised shrimp at below-market prices.

Southern states are important to the Bush administration as President George W Bush seeks re-election in 2004.

Fewer boats are going out to sea, jobs have been lost and communities in the South have been devastated, Regan said.

She also said the average price of a shrimp entree at restaurants has been on the rise showing that the cost of cheaper imports is not being passed on to consumers.

Industry estimates put total imports at $5 billion to $6 billion annually in the United States. Shrimp became the top-selling seafood in the United States last year, overtaking tuna, the longtime king.

The Mexican shrimp industry is also supporting the US anti-dumping complaints.

The dumping margins outlined in the petitions range from 30 per cent to over 200 per cent, Regan said.

US shrimp distributors, wholesalers and restaurants, are gearing up to fend off any duties.