Saving Seafood

LOUISIANA: Seafood testers find Shreveport restaurants deceiving customers with foreign shrimp

March 27, 2025 — Undercover seafood testers sampled a selection of restaurants in the Shreveport area this month and detected what they say is the highest shrimp fraud rate they have recorded to date in Louisiana.

SeaD Consulting, a food testing company that has been making headlines for uncovering seafood fraud at restaurants and festivals across the Gulf Coast, announced in a news release Wednesday that a “troubling” 58% of the restaurants sampled were deceptively serving foreign shrimp falsely presented as if it were domestic in violation of state law.

The company’s use of genetic testing found a total of 17 out of 24 restaurants sampled, or 71%, served foreign farm-raised shrimp. Fourteen of those, or 58%, did so deceptively by mislabeling the country of origin or refusing to indicate it on their menus or restaurant signage.

The sampling, taken March 8-10, is so far the highest inauthenticity rate that SeaD has recorded in Louisiana since it first launched its testing efforts last year at the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in Morgan City.

The company does not identify the restaurants that aren’t following the state’s labeling law, opting instead to raise awareness of its existence.

SeaD executive Erin Williams said six of the restaurants were “blatantly being deceptive” by explicitly mislabeling their dishes as “Gulf shrimp” rather than just falsely suggesting it.

It is illegal under federal and state law to mislabel imported seafood as local and can result in fines or other penalties. In some instances, seafood fraud offenses at the federal level can yield criminal charges or even prison time, such as in the 2024 convictions of two Mississippi restaurant owners, one of whom was sentenced to eight months in prison.

Local seafood was once easy to find in Louisiana, but an influx of cheap foreign catch, particularly shrimp and crawfish, has flooded the market over the past two decades.

Williams said she believes there is less public awareness in the Shreveport area of the foreign seafood problem and the plight of the coastal communities that depend on commercial fishermen.

Read the full article at the Louisiana Illuminator

LOUISIANA: How Louisiana’s Menhaden Industry is Leading in Sustainability

March 24, 2025 — Louisiana’s menhaden industry plays a critical role in the state’s coastal economy, providing jobs and generating millions in economic impact. Together, the industry supports over 2,000 direct and indirect workers, providing good wage jobs in rural coastal communities and contributing $25 million to state and local economies. In a state where commercial fishing is a backbone of our culture, these jobs help keep coastal communities alive.

At the same time, we recognize our responsibility as stewards of the Gulf menhaden resource and have taken proactive steps to ensure the sustainability of our fishery.

While net tears and fish spills are extremely rare, we acknowledge such incidents are unacceptable. That’s why we’ve invested in cutting-edge technology to further reduce occurrences. Over the past four years, the industry has made 65,000 fishing sets, of which only 44 experienced net tears—a minuscule 0.067% incident rate.

Net tears are largely caused by sharks which strike the nets attempting to access the captured fish inside them. The significant increase in the shark population along the Louisiana coast has resulted in an increased incidence of net tears in recent years.

Read the full article at The Advocate

LOUISIANA: Sustainable Fishing: How Louisiana’s Menhaden Industry Protects the Gulf

March 12, 2025 — For generations, Louisiana’s menhaden fishing industry has supported small coastal communities and harvested a sustainable resource while employing responsible fishing practices that protect the Gulf’s ecosystem. Through science-based management, innovative technology, and strict regulations, we ensure that menhaden remains abundant for future generations.

The commercial menhaden fishery uses the purse seine method, a specially designed technique that minimizes environmental impact. Here’s how the process works:

  • Spotting the School: Fishing vessels use spotter airplanes to locate large schools of menhaden.
  • Setting the Net: The vessel encircles the school with a purse seine net, which closes at the bottom to form a contained “purse.”
  • Hauling in the Catch: A winch system pulls in the net, and a vacuum pump transfers the fish onto the boat while safely returning any larger marine species, like turtles, sharks, or dolphins, back to the water.
  • Sorting and Processing: Fish are sorted using bycatch reduction devices, which separate non-target species before the catch is transported for processing onshore.

Read the full article at NOLA.com

The unsung backbone of Louisiana’s coastal economy

March 8, 2025 – When it comes to Louisiana’s commercial fishing industry, shrimp, oysters, and crabs often steal the spotlight. However, a small yet vital fish, menhaden, sometimes referred to as pogies plays an outsized role.

Known for their high omega-3 content, menhaden are a critical link in the Gulf’s food chain and support coastal jobs and industries. According to The Advocate, menhaden are primarily found along the nutrient-rich estuaries of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. These waters provide an optimal habitat for the fish, which are harvested for use in livestock feed, aquaculture, and pet food. Despite misconceptions, menhaden harvesting is one of the most tightly regulated fisheries in the region, overseen by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, and state legislators. The industry relies on satellite tracking and genetic studies to assess stock health, ensuring sustainable harvest levels.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

LOUISIANA: Investigation finds evidence of shrimp fraud in Lafayette, Louisiana

March 3, 2025 — A recent genetic investigation conducted by SeaD (Seafood Development) Consulting into shrimp served at restaurants in Lafayette, Louisiana, revealed that 33 percent of shrimp served in local restaurants is not locally-sourced.

Though the sample was small (24 restaurants), the findings are in keeping with the results of genetic testing of shrimp served in other Gulf states.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANA: The History of the Louisiana Menhaden Industry

February 24, 2025 — Few people realize that one of Louisiana’s most valuable fisheries isn’t for shrimp, oysters, or crab—but for a small, unassuming fish that has fueled our state and local economies: the menhaden.

The first large-scale menhaden fishery in the U.S. began on the East Coast in the early 1800s, where the fish were processed for oil and fertilizer. By the late 19th century, the industry expanded into the Gulf, where Louisiana’s nutrient-rich estuaries provided an ideal habitat for vast menhaden populations. Processing plants soon emerged along the coast, and by the early 20th century, the Gulf menhaden fishery was a booming industry, supplying fish oil for industrial uses and fish meal for livestock feed.

Read the full article at NOLA.com

LOUISIANA: US FDA issues recall of Louisiana oysters due to norovirus illnesses

February 7, 2025 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning retailers and restaurants not to sell certain oysters that could be contaminated with norovirus after 15 people became ill in Louisiana, U.S.A.

On 5 February, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) closed an oyster shellfish harvesting area in Area 3 and ordered a recall of all oysters harvested from that area since 10 January 2025. Fifteen people became ill with a norovirus-like illness after eating oysters from Area 3 across several New Orleans, Louisiana, restaurants between 15 and 31 January, the LDH said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

LOUISIANA: Investigation uncovers shrimp fraud in Louisiana ahead of Super Bowl LIX

February 5, 2025 — The Super Bowl brings an influx of visitors Louisiana, and many will be indulging in the state’s world-famous local seafood, from po’ boys to gumbo. However, a recent study conducted by SEAD Consulting has uncovered that some restaurants have “dropped the ball” when claiming to serve authentic Gulf shrimp and being honest with their customers.

Of the 24 randomly selected seafood restaurants tested in New Orleans that explicitly advertised their shrimp as “Gulf” or “authentic”, three were found to be mislabeling their product and serving farm-raised imports instead. While this 13% fraud rate is the lowest recorded to date in SEAD Consulting’s multi-state study, the nature of the deception in New Orleans is particularly striking, and highlights the need for increased enforcement.

“While New Orleans has the lowest shrimp fraud rate we’ve seen in our multi-state study so far, the deception we did uncover is particularly blatant,” said Erin Williams, COO of SEAD Consulting. “These restaurants aren’t just using suggestive imagery and
wording—they are explicitly marketing their shrimp as ‘Gulf’ or ‘authentic’ while serving something else. A 13% fraud rate means that if you order eight shrimp dishes advertised as local, chances are one of them isn’t what it claims to be.”

Offshore wind companies pitch projects in the Gulf of Mexico, signaling interest in region

December 16, 2024 — After a period of stagnation for the offshore wind sector, a federal agency just announced that two new areas in the Gulf of Mexico have attracted interest from energy companies — a hopeful sign for a fledgling industry that Louisiana has sought to boost.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, which oversees offshore wind development, said Thursday that two areas off the coast of Southeast Texas have “competitive interest” for future business after two companies expressed interest in building wind farms there.

The 142,000 acres of note will likely be included in the next wind lease auction, scheduled for 2026, alongside other Gulf areas identified as apt for the technology.

While the companies’ proposed wind farms most likely would not supply energy to Louisiana, they suggest that the industry is eyeing the Gulf region for future projects.

Read the full article at NOLA

Why Texas gets 9 miles of off-shore territory but Louisiana gets 3 — and how it could change

December 2, 2024 — U.S. Rep. Garret Graves intends to sprint toward the finish line for the 118th Congress, which convenes Monday and disbands in a month, by pushing an issue he has been working since he was a Capitol Hill staffer 20 years ago.

“This has been an ongoing effort for me, for many years, to give Louisiana parity,” Graves said.

Graves, a Baton Rouge Republican who steps down when the 119th Congress assumes office on Jan. 3, teamed with Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, on a bill that would give Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama the same offshore sovereignty as Texas and Florida — moving the boundary line from three nautical miles to nine — thereby allowing Louisiana control of more energy exploration and fishing rights.

Graves said last week in announcing the Offshore Parity Act of 2024, “I’m not sure who was negotiating for us generations ago, but that is just ridiculous.”

History, rather than bonehead negotiators, played a greater role in setting state sovereignty over offshore waters.

Read the full story at NOLA.com