October 24, 2025 — Dave Williams has been to hundreds of seafood restaurants across the South over the past year, and he isn’t hunting for the best shrimp po-boy or crawfish étouffée.
From Texas to North Carolina — and at more than 200 restaurants and three festivals in Louisiana — the commercial fisheries scientist and his team have collected minuscule shrimp samples for a rapid genetic test. The goal is to determine whether the restaurant is serving local shrimp or foreign imports. It’s all part of Williams’ mission to help revitalize the Gulf of Mexico’s ailing coastal industry.
Williams, who does this work through his company SeaD Consulting, presented his findings to Louisiana shrimpers and seafood enthusiasts at the Louisiana Shrimp Festival and Shrimp Aid at the Broadside in Mid-City earlier this month. Attendees sampled dishes like shrimp birria tacos and tempura-fried shrimp, while listening to live music and even watching a puppet show.