Child Labor Produces Fine Shrimp
The fish and seafood industry seems to have had no qualms about employing children. The Biloxi Canning Company of Biloxi, Mississippi, had operated its canning services since 1881. Despite a hurricane that caused major damage to the company in October of 1893, children continued to work at the factory, shucking oysters and peeling shrimp.
In this image, five-year-old Olga joins the group of children picking shrimp. When Hine visited the factory, he observed “two children of five years. One of seven years. Two of eight years. One of nine. Two of ten. Two of eleven (one had been working at this factory two years). I do not believe this is a complete list of the youngsters.” They prepared the shrimp for placement in containers – not directly into cans, which would alter its color, but into a container with a wood veneer lining.
