If you’ve been enjoying “Gulf shrimp” at Mississippi Coast restaurants, you may have fallen victim to false advertising. A recent SeaD Consulting investigation of 44 restaurants on the Coast uncovered some shocking results:
- More than one third of Gulf White Shrimp served was not local.
- More than 90% of Royal Red Shrimp served was not local.
- In total, more than 80% of the restaurants from the study were mislabeling shrimp, with only 8 of 44 serving the advertised product(s).
These results are disheartening for Mississippi’s shrimp industry, which struggles to compete with imported, inferior shrimp. Fortunately, Bethany Fayard of Ocean Springs Seafood Inc. is fighting back with a brand-new program called "Patriotic Prawns." The concept is simple: if a restaurant serves exclusively U.S. shrimp and passes an inspection, it earns a Patriotic Prawns sticker to display to the public.
Additionally, state Rep. Brent Anderson and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Joe Spraggins are advocating for stricter seafood labeling laws in Mississippi. The bill would be similar to the Mississippi catfish labeling law and would require establishments to label seafood as domestic or imported, enabling consumers to make informed decisions. It would also echo recent seafood labeling legislation in Alabama and Louisiana.
You can support these efforts! Make sure the shrimp you buy is local, and tell others about the importance of supporting our local fishermen. For more information about local versus imported seafood, check out this video we made:
Meet the author
(J.) Marcus Drymon, Ph.D.
Marine Fisheries Extension Lead
Marcus is a marine fisheries ecologist, and his research interests are in applied fisheries ecology. The bulk of his research has focused on coastal sharks. He works on many commercially and... Read more
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