Marketplace Morning Report Tariffs come for the Friday fish fry
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Mar 13, 2026 Kaylee Wells, a Marketplace reporter on the ground at an Akron fish fry, and Samantha Fields, a reporter on international water security, discuss two big pressures. They visit a crowded community fish fry and explore how tariffs and supply rules drive up seafood prices. They also explain risks to Gulf desalination plants and why attacks there could threaten regional water supplies.
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Desalination Plants Are Strategic Vulnerabilities
- Gulf countries rely heavily on desalination for drinking water, making those plants strategic targets in wartime.
- Experts note attacks on desalination would cause immediate public panic and ripple effects across farming, oil production, and tourism.
Water Infrastructure Is Weaponized In Conflicts
- Attacking water infrastructure is increasingly used as a tactic to force concessions and raise the costs of conflict.
- Historical examples include Kuwait in 1991 and recent strikes in Ukraine and Gaza, showing precedents for this strategy.
Small Strikes Can Produce Big Psychological Damage
- Even actors with limited offensive options can create outsized effects by hitting water systems because of the psychological shock.
- Marcus King warns Iran could multiply impact by targeting desalination despite limited other capabilities.