People need to stop eating so much farmed shrimp because the farms are destroying the environment eliminating jobs, displacing people from their homes and destroying communities around the world, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said Tuesday.

The group released a new report Tuesday -- "Shell Game: The Environmental and Social Impacts of Shrimp Aquaculture" -- documenting what its says are the dangers of shrimp aquaculture. (To read the full report, click here.)

But with nearly 90 percent of all shrimp consumed in the United States coming from imports -- most grown on farms -- achieving substantial results will require a significant change in the way Americans eat shrimp, Adrianna Natsoulas, field director at Public Citizen's food program, told IntraFish by telephone from Washington, D.C.

"Consumption levels would have to decrease because the wild population simply at this point would not be able to meet demand," Natsoulas said. "Shrimp at one time was a delicacy that was rarely eaten; now people seem to eat it every night of the week. Consumers need to be more conscientious, not just for their own health, but for the health of people in countries thousands of miles away from here."

John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute, told IntraFish on Wednesday it's wrong for the group to tell people to stop eating seafood, given its health benefits.

"America's families enjoy eating shrimp more than any other seafood. Shrimp provides families a healthy protein -- low in fat and carbohydrates and packed with the right kind of cholesterol," Connelly said in an e-mail from Thailand, where he is attending a gathering of the world's shrimp industry heavyweights. "At a time when doctors and other medical professionals are encouraging Americans to eat fish twice per week, it is terribly irresponsible for any group to call for a decrease in seafood consumption," he said. "It is also the height of arrogance and elitism for groups to try to limit the food choices Americans enjoy." Public Citizen says shrimp farms depend on staggering amounts of antibiotics, fungicides, algaecides and pesticides. It says local communities are robbed of mangroves and drinking water sources by farms that pump in fresh water and pump out wastewater.

The group is not planning any shrimp boycotts, but wants consumers to make more informed choices about the food they eat, and to know the impacts their choices have on the environment and other people.

"We want conscientious consumers to take heed and decrease their levels of consumption," Natsoulas said, adding the shrimp cocktail someone orders at a restaurant "comes at the expense of environmental destruction and displaced people."

Share your opinion on this news article. Send your letters to the editor at john@thewaveonline.com. Please include your full name, city/state or province and company name.

UPDATED: Public Citizen report urges consumers to ignore farmed shrimp